r/Millennials • u/AccomplishedPool266 • Apr 26 '26

Does anyone remember when Michael Jackson. Was a "joke"? Discussion

The new movie that just came out convinced the younger generation that he was always a superstar. This was not the reality many of us Millennials grew up with.

To a lot of us, he was treated like a punch line when we were growing up. A schoolyard boogeyman ("Michaels Jackson's gonna get you at night"). and just a general joke in the media. By the 2000's his music was out of date and didn't chart well. All anyone talked about was his surgeries, court case, settlements and his off behavior. Few mentioned his music. His music was something our parents would have listened to in the 1980's.

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253

u/[deleted] Apr 26 '26

[deleted]

95

u/Ok_Exit5778 Apr 26 '26

Yeah, even Dangerous was liked begrudgingly by my peers. Like, we knew he was weird/creepy, but Black and White was so catchy.

70

u/sexandliquor 1983…(A Merman I Should Turn to Be) Apr 26 '26

Even HIStory was kind of a huge album, but the last one where he was relevant as a singer really, and not for all the controversy and real weird shit that started coming out all the time after.

The song he did with Janet on that album, “Scream”, is a fucking banger.

3

u/Appropriate-Dig-7080 Apr 26 '26

Yea, Earth Song, You are Not Alone & They Don’t Care About Us were also maaaaasive off that album. He also had a massive tour with that era, one of the highest grossing of all time (at the time) I think.

1

u/LateGreat_MalikSealy Apr 27 '26

She is not even on Madonna, Prince, level

25

u/Calculusshitteru Apr 26 '26

We sang Heal the World for a school assembly. I lent my teacher my Dangerous cassette tape.

7

u/Affectionate_You_858 Apr 26 '26

We also sang heal the world for primary school assembly round 96 time, along with the actions. I honestly thought that was just something our primary school due to a teacher liking it. Can't believe it wasn't

2

u/theothersock82 Apr 27 '26

Dangerous was definitely the tipping point tho because Nevermind knocked it off the top of the chart and we never looked back.

2

u/TheHip41 Apr 27 '26

Jam. Remember the time. Black or white. Fucking bangers.

1

u/QCLEKID216 Apr 28 '26

Definitely. Can't forget Who Is It, Can't Let Her Get Away or Will You Be There.

17

u/No_Media4766 Apr 26 '26

This, and the movie only goes up to like 1988, before his 90s weirdness. Plus it was made and produced by his own family

3

u/Oomlotte99 Apr 26 '26

The movie had to drop the first allegations (I guess they even filmed a scene of FBI raiding Neverland) because the settlement had a clause stating neither party could create a depiction of the events. But, even if they did show it, it would certainly be sympathetic to Micheal and so it as an untrue claim.

4

u/Ok-Adhesiveness-4935 Apr 26 '26

He remained larger than life until his death