Was Michael Jackson's persona fake?

Was MJ's persona fake from the beginning? (Starting from the Thriller era)

I haven't listened to the Thriller album yet but saw how popular the dance was in NYC Halloween (2024). I was checking if his name was cleared (to listen to the album) and fell down the MJ rabbit hole.

The way MJ portrays himself is polite, kind, charity, shy, etc. I was convinced he was misunderstood.. UNTIL I came across Omer Bhaiti yesterday. I think it's strange to go across the world and befriend a kid ... not hearing defense from Eddie, Janet, etc makes me feel he wasn't close to them after ~1998ish

he's travelled so much but barely saw the tourist sights for each country. his priority was kids and I think that's a bit overdoing it (mis-priotitizing). maybe he picked n chose kids 🤷🏻‍♀️

(I'm still in the rabbithole haha)