Michael Jackson Is Suddenly Wikipedia’s Most-Viewed Person on Earth, And the Reason Makes Total Sense

Michael Jackson has overtaken every other human being on the planet when it comes to Wikipedia traffic. According to pageview data, the King of Pop’s biography page pulled in over 6 million views, making him the most-viewed person on the platform for the entire month. Seventeen years after his death, the numbers suggest his cultural footprint is still expanding rather than fading.

The surge lines up closely with the release of ‘Michael,’ the long-gestating biopic from director Antoine Fuqua that finally hit theaters in April. Its trailer alone pulled in 30 million views in its first six hours and more than 116 million within 24 hours, outpacing every other Lionsgate release and any trailer ever put out for a musical biopic or concert film.

The movie didn’t slow down once it reached theaters either. ‘Michael’ has grossed $937.6 million worldwide, making it the second highest grossing film of the year, the top performing biographical film in history, and the biggest release in Lionsgate’s history. A sequel covering the later chapters of Jackson’s life and career has already been confirmed.

The music catalog is having its own resurgence at the same time. ‘Billie Jean’ debuted at number one on the Billboard Global 200 the week of May 23, making Jackson the first artist who died before that chart even existed to top it. Around the same time, the track also became the first song from an artist who died before Spotify launched to reach number one on the platform’s global daily chart.

Streaming numbers tell a similar story on a different platform. Netflix’s docuseries ‘Michael Jackson: The Verdict,’ which revisits his 2005 criminal trial, premiered in early June and was watched by 17.8 million people in its first five days, landing at number one in 61 countries. Between the box office, the charts, and the streaming wars, there’s barely a corner of pop culture Jackson isn’t currently dominating.

Not everyone agrees the attention has been earned without controversy. ‘Michael’ received largely negative reviews from critics, who praised Jaafar Jackson’s performance but criticized the script as sanitized, and the film notably ends its story before the 1993 abuse allegations are ever addressed. That choice landed differently this year after new abuse claims from members of the Cascio family, who had previously defended Jackson publicly for years, were filed against his estate.

Whichever side of that debate people land on, the traffic numbers don’t lie. Jackson’s Wikipedia page outpacing every other living or dead celebrity for an entire month shows just how much unfinished business the public still has with his story, both the music that built the legend and the controversy that continues to trail it.

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