I think MJ had a way of making people believe in his Peter Pan ways. That he was just this gentle man-boy, ruined from childhood, and not wanting to grow up. I think it was a good web to weave for the kind of catch he was looking for. Sure, some of that’s true but he was fifty years old and apparently self-aware of his trouble childhood as Steyn points out. There was something adult and scheming underneath the mask.
Back when MJ’s bizarre interview with Martin Bashir was aired, I heard it said (maybe by Martin himself?) that in real life Michael spoke in a normal, deep adult male voice, not in the breathy, childlike voice he used in public.
The Beach Boys grew up in house with a physically and mentally abusive father. Brian Wilson even suffered mental breakdown from fame. But they didn’t exhibit the behaviors of MJ.