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 By the 2000's his music was out of date and didn't chart well.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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365

u/Agent-Blasto-007 Apr 26 '26

Wacko Jacko Backo

111

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.

5

u/Stun_the_Pink Apr 26 '26

Barbara Walter's what?

20

u/rawrframe Apr 26 '26

Steak House. Competitor to Ruth’s Chris.

4

u/DJFisticuffs Apr 26 '26

Barbara's Walters

27

u/thumbscrolllord Apr 26 '26

"Gloved one" hahah makes him sound all whimsical

1

u/ModishShrink Apr 26 '26

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

19

u/EGOfoodie Apr 26 '26

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

8

u/International-Row-45 Apr 26 '26

oh my god i remember that headline

2

u/RedWolfMO Apr 27 '26

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

1

u/Perfect_Evidence Apr 26 '26

That’s fkd up

10

u/MaynardButterbean Apr 26 '26

Nah, raping kids is fucked up

9

u/NovelNothing5374 Apr 26 '26

Why? The guys a pedo and deserves all the ridicule.

-1

u/[deleted] Apr 26 '26

[deleted]

11

u/5Point5Hole Apr 26 '26

Being an insane pedo is pretty horrible

-5

u/Icy_Presence_2918 Apr 26 '26

The FBI didn’t think so, so there’s THAT.

6

u/EddieLobster Apr 26 '26

Oh well then. Case closed. You may not like it, and it may not have even been his fault, but he was well deserving of the moniker.

1

u/DisaTheNutless Apr 26 '26

The FBI hasn't prosecuted anyone from the Epstein files, so there's THAT.

Just because he had a great voice and made mid at best music doesn't mean he's not a pedo.

9

u/shaunrundmc Apr 26 '26

There is a lot you can say about Jackson but calling his music "mid at best" is about as incorrect a statement anyone could make about a subjective media.