Try not to guffaw when you hear this one. Entertainment Tonight is reporting on the “explosive new allegation” that Michael Jackson was, in fact, a homosexual. Can we be serious for a second? It’s not new news or old news, in fact it’s not really news at all, that anyone might think/claim/say/assume the King of Pop could have possibly had some homosexual leanings. I’m not saying he was or wasn’t, I’m just saying that when you’re a man who wears a lot of make-up, impregnates women through IVF and acts flamboyant as all hell, the issue’s going to come up.

A lot.

And, of course, it has. For years Jackson’s sexuality has been pondered upon and discussed at great length. In the new book by Ian Halperin, Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson, the author blatantly claims Jackson was gay. He says Michael wore disguises to meet his lovers, hiding his real identity so well that even the most die-hard of fans could be fooled.

ET reporter Diane Dimond, who’s been doing Jackson stories for almost fifteen years, disagrees with the findings presented in the book. “I have found no evidence that Michael Jackson was gay. I have never spoken to any men who have claimed and proven they were Michael’s lovers,” she says. And let’s not forget that Dimond is press - part of her job is digging up the dirt on whomever her subject matter happens to be.

Katherine Jackson has also publicly refuted claims regarding her son’s homosexuality. “Michael’s appearance makes a lot of people think he’s gay, but Michael is not gay,” she said years ago. “You can tell when a person’s gay, sometimes you look in his face and you say, ‘Oh my God, that guy is gay.’ You can tell from their movement and all. Michael is not gay.”

Incendiary and homophobic comments notwithstanding, Jackson has been accused in the past (and by accused, I mean put on trial) of child abuse and pedophilia. Accusations, however, don’t necessarily mean much - and let us not forget that Jackson escaped his pedophile suits.

Michael Jackson was first accused of child abuse in 1993 by Evan Chandler, father of Jordon Chandler, then 13. At this time, even sis La Toya claimed her brother was a pedophile but later retracted this statement. The pressures of the public allegations sparked drug abuse and Jackson went into a rehabilitation program to recover. It was at this point that he began his highly-publicized relationship with Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of rock n roll king Elvis. A private settlement was reached and the case was closed due to lack of evidence. Jackson was not charged with a crime at this time.

Years later, Jackson was again accused of inappropriate behavior in regard to Gavin Arvizo, also 13 at the time. Michael was charged with seven counts of molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent to a minor. He was acquitted on all counts in 2005 after the proceedings carried on for five months.

And now, the question has been raised again. Was Michael Jackson gay? Does it bloody matter? He was married more than once to females, he was by all accounts a devoted father and he was, at least at one point, a billionaire. Michael Jackson was a superstar, and how he lived his personal life has always only helped to cement his celebrity status.