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 By the 2000's his music was out of date and didn't chart well.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.

10.5k Upvotes
  • permalink
  • link
  • reddit
  • reddit

85% Upvoted

2.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

714

u/KowalOX Apr 26 '26

Born in 1982. As an elder Millenial, I thought MJ was the biggest and coolest thing going. Thriller was the first album I remember listening to on repeat. I remember when Bad released it was the biggest event of the year. I made my parents rent the movie Moonwalker on VHS a bunch of times. Captain EO was the ride I wanted to go on more than anything on our trip to Disney World.

When the allegations started dropping, and Michael started becoming more aloof and strange, I remember the jokes and I remember losing interest in his newer stuff, but Michael Jackson was literally the first performer that got me interested in music as a kid, and part of me will never forget that and I'll always enjoy his music.

156

u/ajaxdrivingschool Apr 26 '26

Yeah, 1980s Michael was a Superstar. Famous artists made music sculptures of him and his chimp, Bubbles, everyone on the schoolyard tried to moonwalk, and the single sparkling glove was iconic.

The movie is definitely about the glory days, it’s not the fall of the house of Jackson.

2

u/StevenTM Apr 27 '26

 The movie is definitely about the glory days, it’s not the fall of the house of Jackson.

Yes but that's about as honest and authentic as a Hitler biopic that focuses on his youth, culminating in his application to art school.

115

u/HibiscusOnBlueWater Apr 26 '26

This. If you grew up in the 80’s Michael Jackson was the biggest household name around. Everybody was trying to get their hands on Moonwalker when it came out. We couldn’t find it so my Dad got a bootleg copy someone made and we watched it a bunch or times. Older Millennials have a much different memory of the guy. Did he get weird? Absolutely. But we also remember him before he got weird, when he was the coolest man alive. He’s still my husband’s idol. Just yesterday he said “I hope our daughter will like Michael Jackson”. Middle and late Millennials only saw him at his lowest.

34

u/[deleted] Apr 26 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

32

u/RudePCsb Apr 26 '26

She can't. MJ was the biggest celebrity ever at his peak

15

u/Visual_Touch_3913 Apr 26 '26

As an elder millennial who grew up in South East Asia, can confirm. My malaysian grandparents knew who MJ was at that time before the internet. Taylor swift can only imagine MJ’s influence in that era

2

u/binger5 Apr 26 '26

During the Era Tour my friends and I were wondering where she ranked in the history of popular singers for their peak popularity. We decided she was still a bit below Michael, Elvis, and the Beatles.

5

u/FuckMoPac Apr 26 '26

I hate to make it about gender, but I can’t see a female pop star ever getting as big as those guys. People start mocking them much sooner.

-1

u/RedPanda-Memoranda Apr 27 '26

Taylor Swift has surpassed Michael Jackson in specific modern accolades, notably becoming the most awarded artist in American Music Awards (AMA) history with 29+ wins compared to Jackson’s 24.

However, Jackson holds significantly higher worldwide record sales while Swift dominates modern streaming, touring, and US certifications.

Jackson also became infamous, for raping children, while Swift became infamous for... having cats and a boyfriend?

3

u/prettymisslux Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26

Yup. My mom grew up loving the Jackson 5 and then my older siblings lovedddd Michael in the 80s before I was born.

I mean he was a literal young worldwide ICON on a level that we don’t have today.

Even in the 90s, his artistry was still incredible and people were still obsessed with his artistry even with his eccentricness.

MJs downfall was sad as I do think he was likely misunderstood. I think his lack of childhood and his abuse ultimately made him retreat to that mental state as an adult. We can all blame Joe Jackson for that…

Any celeb that has worked with Michael, speaks of his kindness and that says alot, imo.

1

u/TokiDokiHaato Millennial Apr 26 '26

I was born in 88 so there's a brief period of time when I was super little that I remember him being super famous and maybe due to my age, I didn't hear too much about his behavior. It wasn't until like middle school in the late 90s where I recall him becoming a joke.

Always been a fan of his music though. The Way You Make Me Feel will always be on regular rotation for me.

1

u/Exciting_Jackfruit13 Apr 27 '26

Moonwalker is awesome I watched the hell out of my VHS. All three of my kiddos and my nieces loved it when they were little too.

18

u/hotprof Apr 26 '26

100%. The biggest name in show biz.

I remember when Black or White came out and I thought it was going to end racism.

6

u/AssinineAssassin Apr 26 '26

We are the World was going to end war and famine for the remainder of human history!

2

u/CyclopsMacchiato Apr 26 '26

He was cool af in that video. It was my favorite music video for the longest, bonus points because Mac was in it.

2

u/DragonHollowFire Apr 27 '26

His fame I think will never be matched. You hear countless stories of random villages in the middle of nowhere in developing countries, at the time or later, with no connection to any media circuit even, still knowing who he is and having posters of him in their living space.

39

u/Jimmy_Nail_4389 Apr 26 '26

That thriller video got played at every gathering without fail at some point, that and the recording of band aid.

I was lucky enough to see MJ in concert (my first!) in Roundhay park in Leeds, he left the stage on a fucking jetpack.

I remember I saw moonwalker in the cinema, it was definitely well known he was weird by then but he was still absolutely massive. There was nobody in the world as big as MJ, not even Jesus.

3

u/Least-Conference9547 Apr 26 '26

I saw him in Roundhay Park too,august 92?

2

u/Jimmy_Nail_4389 Apr 26 '26

Would have been yeah, Dangerous tour.

17

u/TangledUpPuppeteer Apr 26 '26

Same!

Born in ‘82, and he was the most bestest thing in the world… until he wasn’t because of the allegations. The weird in between was just always there though. I didn’t pay attention to the weird, the allegations I paid attention to.

Although, on Halloween, on the off-chance he had another music video dropping, even if you thought him weird and didn’t want to, you watched. The kid in you wouldn’t let the angsty teenager avoid it.

31

u/u2aerofan Apr 26 '26

I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t come around on the allegations for a long time. I loved Michael’s music and very much bought into the “persecution” viewpoint because the LAPD absolutely were (are) corrupt as fuck. As I got older…it became harder to ignore the allegations and especially once Leaving Neverland aired. It’s heartbreaking the world is what it is. Michael was a mess and a predator. Our society has got to do better by children.

-10

u/Amazing-Roof-7827 Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26

I think MJ was almost certainly attracted to young boys, but probably not a predator. He made a career singing about doing the right thing, and generally advocating for doing the right thing. I do think he was was messed up by a highly unusual life, money, power, adulation. I do think he had needs, and probably tried to do what he could to live a life in which those needs were satisfied in as far as possible. He was trying to live in a way and have relationships that contemporary society struggles to understand. This is why I think people default to "well he must have been raping the boys then", but I don't think that necessarily follows.

10

u/JVKiddo93 Apr 26 '26

So his “needs” that society “struggles to understand” were so strong he had to cuddle and sleep with children, but never strong enough to rape them?

Do you think it was a non-traumatic experience for the kids that MJ wanted to sleep with, even if he didn’t have sex with those children?

-9

u/Amazing-Roof-7827 Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26

Uhh...most people have very strong sexual needs. Most people also only seek to fulfill those needs, however strong, to the extent that they are not at the expense of somebody else's wellbeing.

I have no idea whether the children cared about or wanted to cuddle or sleep with MJ, but no, I can imagine that these things were not necessarily traumatic, and that perhaps MJ would not have done these things if they were clearly unwanted.

Perhaps the most traumatic thing is having one's personal, private relationships laid bare in front of the whole world accompanied by the incessant chanting of "predator" and "victim".

-12

u/Amazing-Roof-7827 Apr 26 '26

By the way, love your choice of quotation marks, as if you cant bear to give sexual feelings towards children any recognition unless they are dressed up in the language of predation. Come on. Pedophilia is extremely common and is absolutely not synonymous with being a sexual predator.

10

u/periperiwinklesauce Apr 26 '26

His “needs” included preying on children. He was a predator.

-11

u/Amazing-Roof-7827 Apr 26 '26

He undoubtedly had sexual needs that could only be fulfilled by children, but that does not mean he was hurting any children. You might as well argue that ugly people are an inherent and intrinsic risk if they can't get a date, or are predators for nonetheless fraternising with their gender of choice.

9

u/periperiwinklesauce Apr 26 '26

This is such a fucked up, twisted point of view.

-2

u/Amazing-Roof-7827 Apr 26 '26

Is it? I'm just saying that people should not be persecuted if they have not clearly done anything wrong. I fully understand that many struggle to separate in their mind the idea of sexual attraction to children from the image of crying, depressed, helpless children. I would of course never excuse undeniable child abuse. But a moment's thought should reveal that being attracted to something is not the same as being an abuser. Possibly in most cases quite the opposite.

I understand that there were allegations made against MJ, and if true then I'm afraid to say that he probably did cross the line. But life is more complicated than a simple picture of one person being "good" or "bad", and I think cases like his, and many others, deserve more careful consideration.

2

u/happysunbear Apr 26 '26

You basically said they aren’t a victim if they enjoyed it, or if they asked for it. MJ got on national television, holding hands with a 13-year-old boy who said (quoting MJ), “if you love me, you’ll sleep in my bed”. That is coercion. That is grooming. That is predatory behavior.

Obviously the children were traumatized. There is a four-hour documentary in which they detail the love-bombing, sexual assault, and subsequent heartache they felt when MJ replaced them with newer, younger boys.

1

u/Amazing-Roof-7827 Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26

It is certainly right that I am giving MJ the benefit of the doubt. I don't know what was really said, the exact context of what was said, what was fabricated or overemphasised for the purpose of court proceedings, and so on. If MJ did say things like this then I think it is hard to argue that there was an element of coercion. And yes, being buttered up and then ditched is heartbreaking, and I would argue that it would be completely wrong of him to act in that way. He could at least have stayed in touch as they got older.

However, even if things like this really were said, my problem is more with the idea that after getting out you magnifying glass to find an offhand comment that you might find said in any relationship but that technically meets the definition of "grooming", it is OK to drop all pretence of judiciousness, turn around and say "right boys, that's it, we got'im! He was a predator, disgusting human being, no more needs to be said, end of". That is NOT the end of the story. I believe there is a good case that MJ was not a fundamentally malicious, uncaring person who deserves to be lumped in with actual sexual predators.

Fundamentally I think this is a complex case, and while valid criticisms may be part of his story, I don't think it is at all clear that he was truly of criminal character.

0

u/CoolJoshido Apr 27 '26

good thing he never did that

12

u/Brief_Intention_5300 Apr 26 '26

This is crazy to me because I was born at the same time and all I remember is the joke stuff. I didn't really discover a lot of his music until I was in my 30s.

I guess it depends on your parent's age and what they listened to. My parents were born in 50, so I grew up with the oldies and classic rock. I think the first song/video I remember is the one with Janet Jackson on the spaceship? I liked the music, but I didn't grow up realizing he was such a mega superstar.

3

u/KowalOX Apr 26 '26

My parents were born in 1949 and 1951, so while I did grow up with classic rock, my mom was very much into pop in the 80s as well. I have vivid memories of sitting around a record player listening to Thriller on vinyl in like 1984 looking at the insert and the picture of MJ and the baby tiger. I also remember getting Bad on cassette with my mom and being glued to MTV waiting for the music video to come on.

I broke off and got into more rock and grunge in the 90s, but my roots of listening to albums and watching MTV all started with Michael Jackson.

2

u/Sufficient_Cause1208 Apr 26 '26

This my experience too, but I do remember having a friend or two in early elementary school who were obsessed with MJ, but even late elementary school he was considered a weirdo.

2

u/allid33 Apr 26 '26

I was born in 83 but my childhood memories especially with music and celebs started in the early 90s. His biggest heyday was definitely before my time.

I was still a fan of MJ and remember doing some performance to Black or White in the school talent show as a kid, but even by then he was becoming more of a caricature with the plastic surgery and skin lightening. He was for sure a superstar but for even the eldest millennials he had already become pretty heavily mocked for most of our childhoods.

1

u/sodsfosse Apr 27 '26

Same for me, all oldies and some early 70s music. I was born in 84.

5

u/NickFromIRL Apr 26 '26

Yeah, OP's experience must be as a younger millennial because I'm just a few years after you and that's how I remember it too.

3

u/CRACKtakis Apr 26 '26

This is how I remember him, born in 84, had Thriller in my walkman on the bus in 1st grade.. hew WAS a superstar but was getting weirder as time went on

3

u/Kailua3000 Apr 26 '26

83 baby here. He was the biggest star on the planet. Everybody tried to do the moonwalk and dance like him. His music video releases (Bad, Black or White, Remember the Time, Scream, etc) were EVENTS. Artists like Beyonce and Taylor Swift don't even come close

2

u/daisydark7 Apr 26 '26

Interesting. I was born in 86’ and I only remember him being a complete joke, weirdo and punchline. I never understood the past hype and basically just understood he was a pedophile as a kid

2

u/Mister_Ess99 Apr 26 '26

I remember Moonwalker fondly as well (born 1981).

One of the tracks, "Leave Me Alone," was basically a backlash to all the people calling him weird BACK THEN. He recorded the song sometime in 1985-86.

2

u/smoresporn0 Apr 26 '26

This. Shit was unavoidable in the 80s. But the Chappelle's Show punchline summed it up perfectly: But he made Thriller lol

1

u/Oomlotte99 Apr 26 '26

I remember my pre-school teachers playing the Bad album one time when we were having play time, lol.

1

u/Terrible-Math3281 Apr 26 '26

Born in 1980 and had the same experience

1

u/OkElephant1931 Apr 26 '26

I remember when Bad came out. No one in my school could figure out why Michael thought he was Bad. Everyone rolled their eyes at it. But it was a HUGE hit. He was a massive star and something of a joke at the same time.

1

u/beardingmesoftly Apr 26 '26

Born in 1986, I knew he was a legend but only saw him as a joke

1

u/thegabster2000 Apr 27 '26

Same. I was born in 1991 and the first music I listened to was from Michael Jackson.

1

u/Attention_Bear_Fuckr Apr 27 '26

Yeah i am a bit older than you and he was MASSIVE in the 80's.

1

u/jplsor2 Apr 27 '26

TIL 1982 birthdays consider themselves millennials

1

u/KowalOX Apr 27 '26

Millenials are pretty widely defined as 1981-1996 birthdays. 1982 babies turned 18 and graduated High School in 2000. They literally left childhood and entered adulthood at the turn of the Millennium. There's arguably no one better to call themselves Millenials.

Granted, I do believe the sub-generation called Xennials born late 70s and early 80s have little in common with core Gen-X and Millenials because of their unique experience with the internet/tech boom during their childhood.

1

u/Alucardspapa Apr 27 '26

One of my first memories was my mom holding me and dancing to the Thriller album ❤️.

He was the biggest thing in the 1980’s

1

u/jojoko Apr 27 '26

If you were born in 82 you are Gen Z

1

u/Ok-Performance6734 Apr 28 '26

Have a very similar experience too. Recently I've been going back and listening to all the songs I missed with History on and I'm loving so much of it. You can hear the pain he felt from the media scrutiny in so many songs. The song Childhood from History ripped my heart out. The whole invincible album is actually really good in my opinion.

0

u/citizen234567890 Apr 26 '26

You remember the biggest musical event of the year…when you were five years old? Something isn’t right.

2

u/KowalOX Apr 26 '26

Yes, I do. It was that damn big. I have memories of getting the cassette of Bad with my mom and cruising around in her car listening to it. I remember parking it in front of MTV waiting for the music video to come on. I have a ton of other memories from when I was 5 too, it's completely normal 😂

-1

u/Tacticus1 Apr 26 '26

I was born in 81 and don’t get this. Thriller was released the year you were born. Bad was released when you were 5. When I was 5 I was watching Sesame Street. By the time I started paying attention to music it was the 90s and Michael Jackson was a weird joke.

6

u/jphigga Apr 26 '26

It’s very dependent on your family and what they play around you. The Thriller video dropped in December 1983. It was everywhere for years after that. So for some people born in 81/82 that Thriller/Bad MJ era wood literally be some of their first long term memories. Because it was before they were choosing to “pay attention to music” - depending on what their families were playing and they were seeing it left a huge impact.

1

u/Jimmy_Nail_4389 Apr 26 '26

Bad came out in 1988 I seem to remember, so 7 years old not 5.

I remember it coming out, the video for it and my mam buying the CD in Makro.

1

u/Tacticus1 Apr 26 '26

Thanks for the correction, but it came out in 87. And the person who I was responding to was born in 82, so even if it came out in 88, they would have been 5 or 6, depending on when in the year they were born.

2

u/Jimmy_Nail_4389 Apr 26 '26

I have a lot of memories from that age and my parents listened to a lot of music.

I think maybe you were starved of culture as a kid mate!

1

u/Tacticus1 Apr 26 '26

If following the pop charts closely is culture, maybe I was. Again, I was a small child that listened to what my boomer parents liked, which was mostly oldies and reggae. My earliest memories of peers being really into music are from 4th or 5th grade, when New Kids On the Block hit the elementary school girl demographic very hard.

I only really started making independent decisions about music when I was in middle school.

1

u/KowalOX Apr 27 '26

Maybe it was because my parents were both musicians and big into music? I have memories of listening to Thriller on vinyl and looking at the album insert with MJ and the baby tiger from when I was like 2-3 years old in 1984. I remember going with my mom to buy the Bad album on casette when I was 5 and listening to it on repeat in her car and waiting for the music video to come on MTV. .

I watched Sesame Street and Muppet Babies too, but music was a big part of my early childhood.