Complex Magazine Spoofs Michael Jackson

There’s no way the editors of Complex magazine could have known that the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, would suffer a sudden death when they sent their June/July cover story on comic actor Jonah Hill to print.
But the photo feature on Hill _ including poses that rehash Jackson’s most iconic oddities _ couldn’t feel more eerie; unless Joe Jackson was looming somewhere in the room. The snapshots, taken by Chris McPherson many weeks ago, show Hill cuddling with a stuffed chimpanzee, dangling a toy toddler over a balcony and pouring something resembling wine into cola cans for tots in high chairs.
The message is poignantly mixed. The images seem like mockery now. But the very first quote from Hill in the cover article reads: “I’ve been obsessed with Michael Jackson, even the Jackson 5, since I was six or seven. The whole sound, the vibe, everything.”
Like the rest of us, Hill and his Complex collaborators assumed that Jackson would be poised to dive into his 50-date “farewell” string of London concerts next month. Not pushing up daisies.
What an odd and unintended tribute.