DJs must decide whether or not to tell Jackson hits to ‘Beat It’

Nothing floods the dance floor like a classic Michael Jackson track, Montreal DJ Stefan Jez says.

Whenever the party is losing its spark, or too many people have stepped away to grab a drink, the owner of wedding entertainment company Uptown Xpress throws on one of Jackson’s funky faithfuls and watches as it pulls everyone back into the groove. “Everybody knows the words,” he says. “He’s one of those go-to artists you can use to reignite a crowd and it’s because most of his hits are almost timeless.”

Grandparents, teenagers and even the younger kids are almost guaranteed to know the songs, he says, and the discoinfused “Don’t Stop ‘ Til You Get Enough” is one of Jez’s favourites.

He’s incorporated it into his wedding warm-up set for years and plans to keep it that way.

But renewed accusations of child sex abuse levelled against Jackson in the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland are giving some DJs reason to reconsider whether his songs can — or should — still be the life of the party.

Hollywood DJ Michelle Pesce addressed the question in trade magazine Variety as part of an opinion piece on why she’s decided to remove Jackson’s music from her club nights after years of wavering on the decision.

“I choose to believe that … you cannot separate the art from the artist when it comes to using your public platform,” she wrote.

“I personally don’t want my irresponsibility on song selection to be the cause of something that’s highly triggering to somebody who has been sexually abused or mentally beaten in the same way.”

Members of Jackson’s family have denounced the documentary, saying they were not given a chance to defend the singer.