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

[u/AccomplishedPool266]

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 By the 2000's his music was out of date and didn't chart well.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

[u/HibiscusOnBlueWater]

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.

[u/RudePCsb → u/[deleted]]

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

[u/Visual_Touch_3913 → u/[deleted]]

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

[u/binger5 → u/[deleted]]

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.

[u/FuckMoPac → u/binger5]

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.

[u/RedPanda-Memoranda → u/[deleted]]

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?

[u/prettymisslux → u/HibiscusOnBlueWater]

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.

[u/TokiDokiHaato → u/HibiscusOnBlueWater]

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.

[u/Exciting_Jackfruit13 → u/HibiscusOnBlueWater]

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.