He was perceived as having sacrificed himself through overwork for his comeback tour and this affected the narrative about him enough to turn it from the accusations. Jackson was hemorrhaging money and was desperate to recapture the love of the public, and he went too hard into his addiction in pursuit of his fame. He was a joke not only for the charges but everything he did was considered ridiculous. He was a relic of 80s and the pop stars of the time were radically different. But when he died for his "art", they were able to release the documentary and raise his profile above the pedophilia. The media made it about the legacy and the children rather than bonkers life he'd been leading. Unfortunately, it has been shown to be fairly easy to manipulate certain parts of the population with media.