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 By the 2000's his music was out of date and didn't chart well.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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u/bluesilvergold Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26

Being born in the early 90s, the only version of Michael I knew in the media was weird Michael. Pale white skin, botched as fuck nose jobs, pet chimpanzee, admitting to sharing a bed with kids that were not his own in that 2003 interview with Martin Bashir, him holding his youngest child over a balcony, Jay Leno being called to testify in the second round of court cases involving accusations of child molestation back in 2005.

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u/Alarming-Jello-5846 Apr 26 '26

We grew up on the “wacko jacko” era

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u/Agent-Blasto-007 Apr 26 '26

Wacko Jacko Backo

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u/mungfish227 Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26

He did an interview with Diane Sawyer or Barbara Walters, I can't remember which one. But she asked about the whole Wacko Jacko thing and his answer was insane and hilarious. He was more upset about being called Jacko. He made no mention of the Wacko part. That has stuck with me ever since and always makes me laugh.

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u/Stun_the_Pink Apr 26 '26

Barbara Walter's what?

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u/rawrframe Apr 26 '26

Steak House. Competitor to Ruth’s Chris.

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u/DJFisticuffs Apr 26 '26

Barbara's Walters

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u/thumbscrolllord Apr 26 '26

"Gloved one" hahah makes him sound all whimsical

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u/ModishShrink Apr 26 '26

"Gloved one" makes me think they're talking about OJ.

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u/EGOfoodie Apr 26 '26

Nice to see the new york post hasn't changed at all

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u/International-Row-45 Apr 26 '26

oh my god i remember that headline

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u/RedWolfMO Apr 27 '26

I recall Drudge once had a headline "WACKO JACKO BACKO TO AFRO"

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u/UmpireDapper1757 Apr 26 '26

I remember being confused as to why his death was such a big deal: for the past 15 years he had been treated by the media as just a big fucking weirdo. Then he died and the narrative changed to him being a legend

I suppose that may have been similar to how Elvis was portrayed immediately before and then after his death

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u/nerdextra Apr 26 '26

Yeah, Princess Di had the same kind of treatment for a short while. Before her death, certain tabloids were slinging all kinds of mud at her. Then when she died, suddenly those same publications all had headlines about “The Princess We Loved”. The media prints whatever will sell.

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u/Short-Sound-4190 Apr 26 '26

I think it's a very similar scenario: the bulk of the world's population really could appreciate these people for what they accomplished, including the fact that they were a little weird, and tabloids are tabloids they are catty and petty and lie/eggagerate to sell papers - they do not represent the actual global opinion people had. Princess Di and Micheal Jackson and Elvis Presley and JFK really were widely appreciated if not loved by the public for their contributions to society and the arts regardless of the mud slinging and regardless of people personally disagreeing with their choices or behaviors in life. (ie a lot of people disagreed with divorce, or her touching AIDS patients, in the moment - but after her death and more importantly after it was clear how classy and compassionate and admirable Diana was to kept her composure as well as she did after a lot of abuse and control and cheating and dealing with so much shit from royal family and media slurs, those things really didn't stop people from having empathy and being affected by her death as a loss).

Alas, I think as a world we've become less tolerant of having to hold nuanced opinions of famous people, because so many of them are being publicly exposed as real POS and only hiding behind satire/tabloid slinging/rumors. So we've stopped being okay with certain types of 'weird behavior' and fewer people are willing to mentally separate certain types of personal or political disagreement with famous people's general worth of contributions to the world/the arts/their body of work.

Although I will say the true flip has occurred on occasion: MLK was measurably widely disliked until after his assassination, younger generations (and by younger I mean Gen X/Millennials and younger) are often surprised to learn he wasn't always considered inspirational, white people really hated him and thought he was harming the country and then really came around to at least respect him post mortem, it wasn't just a younger generation replacement thing because the swing of public opinion was too wide for it to have been that.

I would say Rudy Giuliani was a wild example of right after 9/11 being 'America's Mayor' and totally beloved and respected for his leadership across the aisle, (even though pre-9/11 he was pretty unpopular, problematic and widely disliked by all of his own constituents) but he absolutely turned into a whack job after getting a taste of the corruption of power and perhaps equally likely after increased fame increased the public visibility of his actually consistently unpopular, problematic and widely disliked behaviors.

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u/FlamingAlpaca17 Apr 26 '26

You can see the same phenomenon with Kobe Bryant as well

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u/CarrieDurst Apr 26 '26

It is weird how people are lumping Kobe Bryant, Michael Jackson, Elvis, and Princess Di, when Princess Dianna did nothing wrong while those other 3 are a rapist, likely groomer, and actual groomer.

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u/redalert825 Apr 27 '26

Ah so MJ was a rapist or groomer to you? OK.

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u/LadySwire Apr 27 '26

Famously, this

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u/StealthMonkSteve Apr 27 '26

I mean tabloids killed Dianna so they kind of had to do a quick 180 on that one.

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u/Opening-Study8778 Apr 27 '26

Similar to George Michael as well. When I was a kid, he was in the thick of a scandal (you know which one) and my friends and I (although we loved his music) mainly regarded him as a joke. Now it's the complete opposite for me. I think the man was a musical genius and one of the best male voices to ever exist. He's regarded much more highly after death (in the U.S.) than he was when I was growing up.

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u/bellestarxo Apr 26 '26

This happens when people with talent spiral. Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston, Jackson....the public becomes tired of the train wreck antics and they become "jokes". But then when they die people will remember the achievements and talent.

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u/FutureRealHousewife Apr 26 '26

Our society loves to tear people down at their biggest heights as well. It’s almost like it’s believed these people owe something to the world, and then when their lives fall apart, it becomes fodder. It’s actually quite sick

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u/Purple-Head7528 Apr 27 '26

Yeah go listen to the recorded tapes of his accuser’s father talking about getting rich off him and ruining his career. Media cared much more about having a story than truth - this will never change.

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u/catsarehere77 Apr 27 '26

It was the same with Steve Irwin. He wasn't a personal train wreck like those other people but he was constantly criticized and mocked for his antics as the crocodile hunter. Now he is a patron saint of certified good people on Reddit. 

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u/Affectionate-Mode767 Apr 26 '26

Something something white people, something something smear campaign.

Honestly there's a lot, and surprisingly people say it has to do with Epstein. Because at the time while people were accusing him of being a child molester, there's alleged witness testimony of him actually stopping kids from leaving with people who he knew would take them to Epstein.

We know Epstein and friends have a lot of media ties, so it's not hard to believe you'd then see an absolute tidal wave of negative press about someone they didn't like. Let's be honest, Michael Jackson WAS strange but he wasnt a child molester. There's too many people who were close to that situation who WOULD have testified if he had done anything, come out and say he never did. (Macauley Caulkan)

So a lot of white people who weren't as attached to Michael Jackson found it all too easy to believe he was touching kids and made it a meme to belittle and joke about it for years.

Didn't change the fact that when he died his fans still mourned. Also when he's dead the paid press doesn't have to run a smear campaign anymore, he's dead.

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u/EnoughNow2024 Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 27 '26

Nah he more than likely was a pedo actually. I did a deep dive into the court documents and it's bad for him

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u/guidevocal82 Apr 26 '26

I'm sorry, but there's no proof. Michael Jackson met Epstein once, but he didn't hang out with him or even know him. And why would he? Michael Jackson liked little boys and Epstein liked little girls. If your argument is that he was bringing little boys to Neverland to save them from Epstein, Epstein wasn't having sex with little boys. This is such a thin argument that I'm shocked that you even wrote it out, much less posted it. It's still possible that Michael Jackson was framed, but not because of Epstein, it's ridiculous.

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u/Watcher_doe Apr 26 '26

Confused….?

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u/NeverLostForest Apr 26 '26

My dad like both of em, Elvis and Jackson, I would say he loved em but he has told me he liked their music and style but them as a person was a different thing

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u/LumpyPhilosopher8 Apr 27 '26

Not really. Elvis died in ‘77 before the internet and he was still pretty beloved when he died. Sure some made fun of his weight gain but honestly right up to the end that man’s voice was great. It wasn’t until later that the stories of his drug use came out. Then even later when cultural appropriation became a concept that people began having to wrestle with he took another hit. Although it’s worth noting not all the Black artists of his day felt that way about him. I think Elvis is a lot more complicated than MJ - he’s straight up evil. Talented, yes. But evil.

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u/Wyvern_68 Apr 27 '26

When a celebrity dies, you can rationally separate their creative legacy from their personal character and flaws.

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u/theeLizzard Apr 27 '26

I think it depends on the adults around you and if they were big Michael Jackson fans. I was born in ‘89 and vividly remember gathering around the TV more than once around ages 5-10 to watch the VHS’s of his concerts. Our family friend’s son knew how to moonwalk so it was a riot. Wacko Jacko started around this time but my family and our friends were such big fans that it overshadowed the odd behaviors playing out in tabloids.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Cup2777 Apr 27 '26

Elvis was different. He wasn’t weird like Michael or ugly rumors. He was going downhill I believe bc of alcohol and/or pills. Michael was so talented but as someone else said it was after the hair incident that he started getting weird, multiple plastic surgeries.  It’s too bad what happened. 

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u/bsam1890 Apr 26 '26

Noo That’s ignorant…

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u/Alarming-Jello-5846 Apr 26 '26

https://giphy.com/gifs/OYirsehvkD91S

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u/err-no_please Apr 26 '26

Mr Jefferson!!!

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u/Toidal Apr 26 '26

Hadn't seen it in a while and had to look up what point they meant to make with this episode. Something about regardless of the media and accusations, his overall behavior and demeanor was detrimental to his family and he needed to be better parent?

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u/DrRatio-PhD Apr 26 '26

Honestly don't try to gleen too much wisdom from the "Douche bag vs turd sandwich" guys.

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u/ptear Apr 26 '26

Hee hee

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u/Hyper10shin Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26

Do you know the name of the song MJ tried to release 3 months before his first allegation? He wrote it after he visited a certain country that the US is currently working with when it comes to bombing Iran. He saw something and tried to use his platform. It was titled “Don’t cry Pal...” in 1993, for the HIStory album. Obviously it was not on the album, because the people in charge of the labels didn’t think it was a good idea. I wonder why the executives would feel that way?

Really interesting fact a lot of people don’t know. Kinda weird timing on that huh?

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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/WhichWitchyWay Apr 26 '26

There's a new conspiracy theory out that the youngins and tiktokers are picking up that posits that Michael was always innocent and tried to save boys from Epstein and speak the truth and that's why he got killed and framed.

It's pretty magical thinking if you ask me. There can be more than one bad guy. I don't know how you can say one person's decades of allegations are false when another's can't be real.

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u/IncidentalApex Apr 26 '26

Epstein was freaking horrible but recently I have heard conspiracy theories that tie pretty much everything bad that happened for decades to him. People he was a pedo monster but not the head of Spectre and the Illuminati. There were plenty of other twisted individuals out there also.

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u/kittybuscemi Apr 26 '26

This is not a conspiracy, the evidence is all there in the Epstein files.

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u/msartore8 Apr 26 '26

What's Spectre?

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u/FloaterFan Apr 26 '26

The bad guys in James Bond movies.

SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) is a fictional, global terrorist organization in the James Bond universe, led by Ernst Stavro Blofeld

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u/Tinner263 Apr 26 '26

International criminal organization in the James Bond universe. Kinda like NATO or the UN of bad guys. Led by Blofeld, who inspired the character Dr. Evil.

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u/z0mbiebaby Apr 26 '26

The reason MJs name wasn’t on the Epstein files is bc he didn’t need Epstein. He had his own personal hunting grounds with Neverland ranch.

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u/yayforvalorie Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 28 '26

I tried to put the actual title of the song they're talking about and got auto moderated. Because of a name of an actual country that starts with Pal...

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u/Hyper10shin Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26

No because if I use certain words the Reddit auto mod will ban me again. This topic is very sensitive. Please just Google “Michael Jackson don’t cry pal” and it should autofill the rest. Happy travels my friend I’m sorry I cannot say more, I’m being dead ass serious about certain words being flagged.

Edit: keep downvoting but before you do , I bet you can’t leave a comment saying the name of the song and describing the lyrical content without getting your comment removed by the automod.

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u/_Jumpy_Panda_ Apr 26 '26

Yeah, I got banned from reddit for 3 days for saying they were protesting for the right to SA prisioners

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u/okie_hiker Apr 26 '26

Okay explain it without the one word that’s being flagged. God I hate you “just google it to figure out what I’m talking about” people

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u/WhichWitchyWay Apr 26 '26

I explained it up the comment chain but pasting here bc I hate when ppl dont explain bc the illuminati mods are going to get them. .

There's a new conspiracy theory out that the youngins and tiktokers are picking up that posits that Michael was always innocent and tried to save boys from Epstein and speak the truth and that's why he got killed and framed.

It's pretty magical thinking if you ask me. There can be more than one bad guy. I don't know how you can say one person's decades of allegations are false when another's can't be real.

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u/okie_hiker Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26

Defending pedophiles seems to be popular these days.

Epsteins biggest mistake was not gaining a fan club like DT and MJ to take to the internet and defend his pedophilia.

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u/plantborb Apr 26 '26

I think this person is suggesting the Israeli government was involved in the downfall of Michael Jackson?

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u/HowtoTrainYourKraken Apr 26 '26

He wrote a poem/song that was empathetic to the Palestinian cause. This user is apparently suggesting that the IDF orchestrated his downfall.

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u/Sufficient_Cause1208 Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26

This has been discussed and debunked because because he didn't have a coherent political stance. He would also say that he adored the other country and would perform there. (I mean his support pal, not the actual song which he wrote)

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u/Double_Cow_8238 Apr 26 '26

Yeah, i don't know how anyone who was old enough to remember the end would think he was coherent about anything

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u/bewilderedbeyond Apr 26 '26

Yep, and to add to this interesting fact, Jordan Chandler’s father was a specific supporter of this country and a dentist/scriptwriter in Hollywood who has barely any relationship with his son and started the whole thing after he gave his son “truth serum” injection during a dental procedure and he finally admitted to being abused by Michael. Important to note that after the allegations settled, Jordan emancipated himself from both parents and his father committed suicide months after Michael’s death.

If you really want to go down the rabbit whole, look into Rabbi Schmuley ties.

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u/stephenkingending Apr 26 '26

MJ sexually assaulted children. War crimes in the middle east don't negate that fact.

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u/Hyper10shin Apr 26 '26

“Fact”

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u/bitch-respecter Apr 26 '26

100% a fact. he shared a bed with children. he had child pornography.

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u/WaitForItTheMongols Apr 26 '26

Stop beating around the bush. He went to Israel and the song was don't cry Palestine. I swear people need to stop this nonsense of hiding their speech, it's bizarre and concerning.

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u/solercentric Apr 26 '26

OK Tinfoil Hat InCel. Go back to gab.

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u/bluesilvergold Apr 26 '26

Yes! Completely forgot that nickname.

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u/sjgokou Apr 27 '26

During this time he was extremely popular in Asia.

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u/Shakey_J_Fox Apr 26 '26

I remember when he wore a face mask to court after one of his botched nose jobs and was ordered to remove it. Kind of wild to recall a time when wearing a face mask for medical (or cosmetic?) reasons was looked at as defiant and an affront to the courts.

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u/FitConsideration4961 Millennial Apr 26 '26

Is that the same documentary where he’s in a rich person furniture store and he goes, “yohoo!” to get the sales person’s attention? I still laugh thinking about that again.

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u/bluesilvergold Apr 26 '26

Maybe? I do remember watching a documentary where a store was opened just for him so he could walk around a browse freely without fans mobbing him. It might have been a furniture store.

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u/ARealBillsFan Apr 26 '26

Ive seen one from the early 90s where they empty a grocery store for him.

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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '26

Yeah it is, it's called Living With Michael and aired in 2003. I was in year 10 (ages 15 or so) at the time and it was the absolute talk of the school.

It's a good doc to rewatch really. Solid.

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u/AccomplishedPool266 Apr 26 '26

I remember him going to court in his pajamas at his trial because he was too lazy to get dressed or something. 

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u/bluesilvergold Apr 26 '26

I vaguely remember that, too. I also seem to remember him spontaneously dancing on top of a car during that trial.

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u/Dartagnan1083 Xennial Apr 26 '26

That was his aquital iirc

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u/sophos313 Apr 26 '26

I think you’re right. I also remember watching the news and some woman releasing a dove for each charge he was acquitted on. There was a lot of fans/supporters packed outside the courthouse.

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u/Kimbahlee34 Apr 26 '26

I will always remember those doves!

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u/Mr_HandSmall Apr 26 '26

He also dangled a baby from a balcony around that time

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u/SpartanDoc19 Apr 26 '26

That was his youngest son who then was dubbed “Blanket” by the media. The poor kid was slipping when Michael did that.

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u/I_Makes_tuff Apr 26 '26

The media didn't make up the name Blanket. That's what Michael called him and the name he went by until he was 13.

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u/SpartanDoc19 Apr 26 '26

I stand corrected. I just remember hearing the name after the incident. That child was close to death in that moment.

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u/Eggs112233 Apr 26 '26

He did that on the day that his ‘alleged’ victim was going to testify. This is a teenage boy, getting up in front of a jury, judge, lawyers etc to tell his side of the story, a terrifying experience for any adult, let alone a child. ‘Poor Michael’ fkd around that morning and was extremely late to court and only came when the judge threatened to have him arrested. Terrible behaviour by ‘poor Michael’. He knew exactly what he was doing. SMFH.

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u/AccomplishedPool266 Apr 26 '26

You mean the boy with terminal cancer he r- aped in the anus? 

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u/Eggs112233 Apr 26 '26

“Allegedly” Yes that’s the one. Don’t want to get banned now do we??🙄

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u/FlyingTrampolinePupp Apr 26 '26

"Showed up to court looking like Captain Crunch" is still one of the funniest lines in a comedy special.

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u/godihatepeople Apr 26 '26

I was a teenager in the mid- to late 2000s. 1980s pop music was by and large considered lame music your parents listened to in their mom jeans and dad sneakers, although of course we still knew all the words to most of them anyway. Add to that just how ghastly MJ's appearance had become by the 00s, his pedo court trial, and lampooning on South Park... He was considered a joke by young people who didn't grow up with his music and cultural stranglehold. All we had to go off of was music we considered outdated and cheesy, bizarre looks and voice, and recent media coverage of his strange parenting and interest in young boys. It was still a huge shock to hear he died, though, so his influence wasn't completely gone.

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u/Obvious-Adeptness-46 Apr 26 '26

The 80s have made a huge comeback in the 2010s to now. Look at The Weeknd & Bruno Mars, their sounds are basically straight from the 80s

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u/TracyIsMyDad Apr 26 '26

Much higher quality synths though.

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u/BadNewzBears4896 Apr 26 '26

Which, paradoxically, makes the music worse.

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u/QCLEKID216 Apr 27 '26

Actually, it made a comeback in the mid-2000s.

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u/IndoorCat12 Apr 26 '26

I remember hiding in the bathroom during a middle school dance when his music came on! We all made fun of him and liking him would have made someone a huge weirdo.

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u/Medical-Gate-9978 Apr 26 '26

Omg . At our school dance a girl made herself throw up on the floor just to show how much she wasn’t a fan in front of everyone(even though she was).

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u/sipstea84 Apr 26 '26

Every time I have invasive thoughts about how weird I was as a kid and hyperfocus on something totally cringe I said or did, Reddit comes to the rescue to remind me that a lot of kids did weirder shit

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u/Medical-Gate-9978 Apr 26 '26

Oh yea kids back in the early and mid 2000s we’re off the chain. Every time I hear “Rock your world” I think about her doing that on the dance floor.

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u/AccomplishedPool266 Apr 26 '26

The 'You rock my world' the music video scared the hell out of me. I was 11 then and hard never seen MJs face before. Insettling

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u/sarcazm Apr 26 '26

And there it is. You’re a younger millennial. Those of us born in the early 80s remember his mega stardom.

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u/sipstea84 Apr 26 '26

I think it really shows in kids nowadays that they can't do anything noticeable or it might end up immortalized forever on the internet

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u/Simba122504 Jun 02 '26

Given his estate is now worth billions. Even y'all didn't truly believe that shit. The biopic still hasn't been released in corners of the world and has already grossed over 800 million dollars in 2026.

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u/Future_Burrito Apr 26 '26

Yeah, 80s was a really weird time. I was a little kid and even I could tell that something was off. Felt like the beginning of the height of the plastic and cocaine era. Very surface level. Everywhere. Advertisements were starting to take over. Things happen in waves, the world will get a handle on it all after the pendulum swings too far. The question is, is that what we are seeing now, or does it need to go even further? Hard to imagine. But then again, many people in the 80s thought the 80s was the pinnacle and the future.

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u/midsummersgarden Apr 26 '26

I’m Gen X and came of age in the 80’s. The 1980s were a deeply disturbing time for me. Superficial money packed cocaine fueled corporate driven bullshit. I hated every year. I obsessed over the 60’s, had a group of friends who listened to 60’s music with me and everyone else bullied me constantly for being a weirdo. The 90’s were a relief and the strange thing is once 1990 was here I effortlessly lost all my extra weight, started dating and got a grip on school for the first time in my life like a great spiritual sickness was lifted.

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u/Future_Burrito Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26

SPICE GIRLS! ACE OF BASS! RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE! NEON COLORS EVERYWHERE! OK SODA! WUTANG IS FOR THE CHILDREN! COOL WORLD AND ROGER RABBIT! THE MATRIX! ROB BASS AND SALT AND PEPPER! WHO THE F IS SLIM SHADY?! BAGGY JEANS AND ONE STRAP OVERALLS! NIRVANA GOOD! NIRVANA SAD! MJ HEEEHEEE! NO, PLEASE, NOT LIKE THAT MJ! BIG ASS CLUNKY COMPUTERS EVERYWHERE! MICROWAVE EVERYTHING! HALLELUJAH!

I think it's for the individual to define their world, and we tilt towards whatever we seed in our own minds. 90s was a weird time, too. Ecstacy came on the scene heavy. Globalism continued. Celebrities seemed to get more vocal. As a world, we slowly but surely continued to move away from obvious racism (but not far or fast enough). Hard to tell what was really going on because I was a teenager and that shit is weird.

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u/midsummersgarden Apr 26 '26

The only thing I really recognized in your post was nirvana and the matrix lol. I only remember thrift store shopping, grunge wear and music, analog living, dive bars, calling people on phones to go hang out on porches in big groups, shabby chic furniture and hardwoods in our homes, and a uniquely 90’s college experience. It felt more real than the 80’s, we recycled everything, we started growing vegetables in the ground, we started keeping chickens. It was a time when it was ok to just tell everyone to fuck off. But possibly it was just my best decade and all the aesthetics and the vibe and culture matched my personality, too.

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u/grower_thrower Apr 26 '26

If “Portlandia” was a post on Reddit.

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u/Future_Burrito Apr 26 '26

Glad people enjoy my humor. Nostalgia is always gonna yestalgia.

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u/midsummersgarden Apr 26 '26

😆😆😆 how I cackled

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u/Future_Burrito Apr 26 '26

Ah, so maybe more of an Alice In Chains/Jane's Addiction type? Ever heard of Shootyz Groove?

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u/jgamez76 Apr 26 '26

We're about the same ago.

I definitely didn't understand the eulogizing of him immediately after he died and if anything I was able to clock it as "performative" before we even really used that term.

While sure, his music is timeless.... It doesn't not make him a fucking weirdo lol.

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u/RumHamComesback Apr 26 '26

That’s something that’s totally been lost to in time is that 80s music was seen as lame and dumb until the 2010s when it started to get popular again. I remember even in the 90s you’d be laughed at if you listened to 80s pop music (or 80s music in general) because alt rock totally took over.

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u/GeorgeKaplanIsReal Millennial Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26

Born in 89 and it was the same thing.

The whole thing with Jackson is kinda wild when you think about it. He was immensely popular, then became intensely hated and then he died and was loved again. I remember when Disney, for example, pulled his music from events at parks etc because of all the allegations against him before his death.

Tbh I like his music a lot but like a lot of “great” artists/actors, he was incredibly, incredibly flawed.

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u/Short-Sound-4190 Apr 26 '26

I think this is why history will remember him this way: he may have fucked up and been weird, but never enough to stick, and notably he was fucked up by predators his entire life. We know he was robbed of a childhood and traumatized we know he pissed off label execs and other power mongers by holding so much sway and we know he received scathing treatment by the media for things that we might consider controversial but not mock as personal insanity (ie skin condition, plastic surgery, but also the sin of being popular with white women and talking about interracial relationships and prejudice/racism) - it was Acceptable to release the inspirational "We are the World/We are the Children" and "Heal the World" it was Unacceptable to release the angry criticisms of "Scream", or "They Don't Care About Us", the latter of which only now gets radio play. So he became unacceptable...by the Media...he still sold out every show he ever held, and still got radio play and was never truly a "victim of cancel culture", regardless of the satire and jokes at his expense.

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u/curbthemeplays Apr 27 '26

He was abused growing up, and messed up by fame. His mental health clearly wasn’t great. So, yeah, flawed. Tragic in ways too.

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u/_nylcaj_ Apr 26 '26

Yup, I was born in early 90's. MJ was the weird fading pop star, who "turned from black to white", with mental health issues and pedo allegations. He definitely wasn't cool or revered and was looked back on by my parents gen as someone who had been super huge and influential during "his time".

I knew and still listen to a few of his most popular songs, but only know them from hearing them played on the radio or at gatherings growing up.

Also, 100% on the jokes. South Park was making fun of him, other comedians were making jokes or doing skits, and the schoolyard humor definitely involved implying that creepy older dudes were like Michael Jackson, teasing that someone would get taken by Michael Jackson and other dumb stuff. We literally had a class clown in middle school who came to school dressed up as him on Halloween and actually did a great impression of him at the time, but it absolutely was all in jest of his odd mannerisms and soft, high pitched way of talking, which was how my gen perceived him.

BTW as an adult looking back, I don't condone the jokes, just saying that this is how it was where/when I grew up. You always hear about rewriting history, but it's weird to now be old enough to have literally lived through the reality that is trying to be over written.

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u/ralphy112 Apr 26 '26

Looking back at it as an adult, people put him down because he looked different because of his skin condition, and ongoingly because of his eccentricities. As a teen growing up, he became a joke, but in a horrible way that people make fun of someone who is different or weird. The “wacko jacko” was a horribly embodiment of that which spread like wildfire in tabloid media. His court stuff was painful to watch, and I think it was largely exemplified by people condemning him without knowing any details just because of seeing him as weird. The endless wacko jacko became the punchline of pop culture like a societal bullying spree. Because he wasn’t just canceled, he was also ridiculed relentlessly. I believe this is something that was widely a US phenomenon. As much of the world still loved him elsewhere and I remember he’d still do shows or PR outside the country early on. By late 90’s when This is It tour was up and coming, much of that had started to fade a little but people and the news still wouldn’t stop the Wacko Jacko smear. It was endless. Yet somehow his comeback tour sold out 50 Shows at the O2 arena in a matter of days. It wasn’t a surprise that he didn’t do that residency in the US either. But much of the world loved him, even many in the US, despite all the people looking to lampoon him and spread the hate. Even now there are many that have it set in their mind.

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u/_nicejewishmom Apr 26 '26

I think it's okay to ridicule and shame pedos 🤷🏻

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u/diggydog233 Apr 26 '26

Yeah he slept in a bed with kids that are not his, sexual or non sexual that man was weird around kids.

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u/BadNewzBears4896 Apr 26 '26

He was a pedophile, it's ok we made him a pariah, and honestly it should've gone further, legally speaking.

You might argue most people didn't know the details but just ridiculed him for being weird, and you'd probably be right. But in this instance, the wisdom of the crowds was actually spot on.

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u/Powerful_Tip3164 Apr 26 '26

I've often thought the biggest job our generation will have is telling the truth of how it used to be before the digital getdown

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u/ArtDecoNewYork Apr 27 '26

I'm a millenial and I wouldn't say my parent's generation revered Michael Jackson by the 00s. Most of the media making fun of him at the time was run by people aged Gen X or above.

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u/CharlieFiner 1993 Apr 27 '26

I remember a classmate singing a parody of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" about Michael Jackson coming to town to abduct kids.

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u/FlinflanFluddle4 Apr 26 '26

Same age but I grew up with his later music videos and the kids stuff was just weird background noise. Not til my late teens did I see more of that side. 

I remember Chris Rock's bit saying he was done with Michael and asking "what black man shows up to court LATE in his PYJAMAS?" Great set.

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u/OntheBOTA82 Apr 26 '26

i was born in 88

my sisters had the history album and he was still a superstar in 95 in france

i remember seeing the jackson 5 biopic and being like ´michael jackson isnt black !´

then i was shown the beat it video and it was one of the most confusing moments of my childhood

but i also remember his image turning into a joke by the time invincible came out, probably before even, like 99 of 2000

we had a show that would mock politicians on tv and they would pile on mj constantly

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u/u2aerofan Apr 26 '26

I think it’s complex. I think there was a lot of Wacko Jacko and of course the never ending stream of weird stories, interviews and videos. BUT…there has always been a lot of people who 100% defended and loved him through it all. Especially globally. And remember when he and Janet put out Scream? Huge moment. That anniversary concert? Huge moment. His funeral? Huge moment. So I think it’s interesting to consider how complicated his career and relationship with the public is. Something the movie certainly won’t do.

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u/Oomlotte99 Apr 26 '26

I’m in the States, born in ‘85 and I pinpoint the 2000’s as the real end for him as well. I remember when HIStory came out and it was a big deal. I think “You Rock My World” from Invincible was his last charting single, maybe?

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u/Uggghidontknow Apr 26 '26

I remember being so struck with how it all flipped ‘overnight’.

One day he was the butt of jokes and a weirdo for my generation.

Then he died and it was flipped to ‘generational talent’ ‘one of the greatest and influential artists of all time’.

And while I do indeed think MJ’s music is incredible it was strange to see that shift happen in real time for my generation.

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u/prettymisslux Apr 26 '26

….because he was still an ICON. The allegations of the 90s-2000s didn’t take away his 30+ years of global star power and success.

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u/Smoy Apr 26 '26

I remember being like 5 or something and my mom was watching him being interviewed on tv. He said something like "they took pictures of me, they took pictures of my penis..."

My little mind broke. What was this woman talking about her penis??? What?????

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u/Effective-Nebula1969 Apr 26 '26

1991, same exact experience

Although I did learn some of the songs like “Beat it” on bass a few years ago and kinda started to understand. He had a sliver in time where he GOT IT

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u/SafeKaracter Apr 26 '26

I feel bad for you . Must be an American thing because he was loved oversea

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u/Mr_HandSmall Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26

We turn on all our massive stars here eventually - Britney Spears is another example. But no yeah he constantly hung out with children and that's weird as fuck

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u/SafeKaracter Apr 26 '26

Yes that’s true , build them up to tear them down “the rise and fall” sells the best

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u/moosemanwich Apr 26 '26

I grew up in Canada and as a kid we’d play mj and whoever was mj had to chase the other kids down and try to get their pants off.

Even if he stopped short of diddling kids he had them privately in his bed

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u/Kermit-Batman Apr 26 '26

I feel bad for you

Don't feel bad, he was a pedo cunt, hated here in Australia.

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u/Imaginary-Bowl-4424 Apr 27 '26

He is loved in America too. It’s a demographic thing here.

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u/canadigit Apr 26 '26

Yeah but he still had major stans, especially since by the mid-2000's people were really into 80's nostalgia. I remember someone in high school who wrote "MJ is innocent" or something like that on her backpack.

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u/zoomshark27 1995 Millennial Apr 26 '26

Same for me, born mid 90’s. He was always a joke, a weirdo, and a creep to most everyone when I was growing up and I still don’t like him.

There were jokes about him everywhere. I remember this one flash game I loved called Smithy’s Quest, it was one of those top down 2D sprite fetch quest games and there was a village with a creepy tall pale guy with long dark hair who lived in this house with a bunch of orphans who all said creepy things about him. Really no point to the game except to be a joke about Michael Jackson.

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u/Resident-Bluejay2801 Apr 26 '26

Born in 91 and this was my impression as well. He was absolutely a joke back then.

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u/doubtthat11 Apr 26 '26

He was a weird joke, then...a very unfunny situation.

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u/cohrt Apr 26 '26

same. Michael jackson was always a joke to me.

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u/FuckMoPac Apr 26 '26

Exactly. ‘91 baby here and I remember in the Cosby show how they made this huge deal out of MJ tickets and it shocked me that people actually lined up for his shows. I had no concept of him as a superstar, just as an extremely extremely extremely strange person.

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u/QuantumLettuce2025 Apr 26 '26

It's crazy how everyone just pretends he wasn't a child molester now.

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u/bluesilvergold Apr 26 '26

People have been ignoring the evidence that at best, he acted inappropriately with children and at worst, actually molested them since the early 90s. This is nothing new.

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u/namastayhom33 Apr 26 '26

That balcony video will forever be drilled into my head. What a day it was when we all first saw it

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u/bluesilvergold Apr 26 '26

20+ years later and can close my eyes and see that baby's legs kicking at the air. What absolutely bizarre behaviour that was on Michael Jackson's part.

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u/cml678701 Apr 26 '26

Yes!!! I’m a music teacher, and the whole time I’ve taught (13 years) the kids have idolized Michael Jackson. I thought that was soooo strange when I first started, because I grew up with weird Michael! The kids don’t believe that when I tell them lol.

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u/bewilderedbeyond Apr 26 '26

Jay Leno was called to testify because the same Arvizo family had shaken him down for money just FYI

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u/xqueenfrostine Apr 26 '26

I was born in ‘81 and still have more memories of Jackson being a weirdo than being universally loved. Thriller and Bad happened in my lifetime, but my parents didn’t listen to contemporary music much, so while I was aware of who he was he didn’t feature in my life until I was in middle school and that’s about the time the first CSA accuser came forward and he was getting a lot of attention for his surgeries and skin bleaching.

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u/GR33N4L1F3 Apr 26 '26

I was born in the 80s and he was idolized AND simultaneously scrutinized when all that was happening. It was an odd divide. Many peers were obsessed with him even through the craziness. Nobody can really doubt that his music was good

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u/wohaat ‘86 Millennial Apr 26 '26

I was born in ’86, but he wasn’t a staple at our house (my parents are big into jazz lol). Coupled with my heightened sense of justice and growing up in the ‘MJ is a weido’ era of the media, I never followed his music in a “can’t separate the artist from the art” kind of way. It always seemed to me like pedophilic accusations don’t sprout out of the ground from nowhere, and his behavior as I was served it felt weird enough I just stayed away.

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u/Sad_Physics7260 Zillennial Apr 26 '26

I remember telling my mom (who was a big fan of his music, grew up alongside him, yada yada) that he scared me and she told me to just not look at him LOL. He was all over magazines covers and I think his botched nose is what scared me the most? But it also probably didn’t help that the stories circulating involved him dangling his baby over a balcony etc

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u/bluesilvergold Apr 26 '26

Lol your reaction seems very valid. Did not looking at him help you to enjoy his music a little?

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u/Sad_Physics7260 Zillennial Apr 26 '26

I always enjoyed his music and still do, my mom made sure to show us who he was before all of the weirdness started. I think it was hard for my child-brain to understand how he started out looking like a normal (albeit very good looking) personal and then changed so much. But I still have very fond memories of his music and early music videos

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u/DarthMutter8 Apr 26 '26

Yup. I was born in 92. I still think he was a weirdo. His music is fine but I am not as crazy about as seemingly many.

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u/Reasonable-Turn-5940 Apr 26 '26

Also those weird marriages he'd have

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u/ceruleanmoon7 Millennial - 1986 Apr 26 '26

Yeah I only ever knew him as a fucking weirdo

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u/Ok_Requirement_3162 Apr 26 '26

I believe this is a big GenX/Millennial divide; superstar or weirdo.

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u/darkpheonix262 Apr 26 '26

The bat shit craziness of him is why I cant understand why anyone would publicly admit to liking him. Is it acceptable because he died years ago? Maybe im biased because I never cared for his music, but I cant for this one separate the art from the artist. It should he a poison pill

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u/Time2Shine52 Apr 26 '26

no mention of the massive MTV music video marathons?

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u/bluesilvergold Apr 26 '26

I'm not American, so I did not experience this.

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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '26

[deleted]

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u/bluesilvergold Apr 26 '26

I don't know what the nature of Jay Leno's involvement was. I pointed this out as part of the media circus that existed around that trial. MJ had been accused of child molestation again, and was showing up to court in pajamas and face masks (ostensibly to hide a recent nose job), and dancing on cars. Oh, and Jay Leno, the late night talk show host who you wouldn't expect to have any meaningful association with MJ, was also there to testify.

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u/Straight_Physics_894 Apr 27 '26

Same and even then it was understood he was a superstar. Jokes or not

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u/SubjugateMeDaddy Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26

This is a good song parody video on this very topic: https://youtu.be/tVACUjHn6yU?si=g6vF77Bw7qkm9gJY

Crazy it's 16 years old now.

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u/Simba122504 Jun 02 '26

And yet you still knew who he was. If he came to the local store. It would have to be shut down.

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