Gallup: Public Splits, In “Major Racial Divide,” on Michael Jackson Verdict
Editor and Publisher, June 14
NEW YORK3An overnight Gallup Poll released this morning shows that 48% of Americans disagree with the verdicts clearing pop star Michael Jackson of all charges in the molesting case and only 34% agree — along a “major racial divide,” Gallup said.
Whites disagree by about 2-1 (54% to 28%) while nonwhites take the exact opposite view by 2-1 (56% to 26%).
This recalls the O.J. Simpson verdict in 1995, when whites disagreed with him getting off by 62% to 27% while nonwhites supported it by 67% to 24%.
A clear majority, or 62%, believe that Jackson’s celebrity status was a major factor in the verdict.
Nearly half said they were “surprised” by the verdict, with 24% saying they were “outraged.”
Exactly one in four said they were “still a fan” of the singer. Almost as many said they were once fans but no longer.
