MICHAEL Jackson has been declared an innocent man. But he has paid a heavy price in the process.

After one of the most bizarre court cases in living memory, the law sees the pop superstar as not guilty of child molestation.

But the damage to Jackson's image, reputation and self-esteem will last for the rest of his life.

There is no doubt that Jackson is an exceptional musical talent. But he has descended into an odd world which most people will find unacceptable despite the verdict of innocence.

Jackson wanted the world to view him as a child-like innocent. But his admission that he shared his bed with young boys, his collection of pornography, and his strange fantasies - such as his dream of hosting a celebrity animal party - are at odds with the image he sought to create.

For four months in a Californian court, a spotlight has been shone on a lifestyle which has been exposed as unsavoury and, although the singer is a free man, his future remains uncertain.

It is to be hoped, of course, that justice has been done, and that fame - a more powerful commodity in America than anywhere else - has not been the key to his vindication.

But, in the same way that OJ Simpson has never truly been cleared in the eyes of the public, the cloud of suspicion will never truly leave Michael Jackson.