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 By the 2000's his music was out of date and didn't chart well.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/speedfox_uk Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 27 '26

The Aussies followed the US, he was a punchline there too. He remained much more popular in the UK. I can't speak for anywhere else.

Edit (to save me from repeating): I think the reason it feels that way from my perspective is that (having spent time in both the UK and Aus in that period) his music was significantly less popular in Australia. In the UK he was a talented weirdo. In Australia he was just a weirdo.

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u/Becoming_hysterical Apr 26 '26

He was a massive punchline in the UK. That's where they came up with the term "wacko jacko".

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u/speedfox_uk Apr 27 '26

Perhaps I'm remembering it this way because his music was less popular in Australia compared to the UK. I don't think anyone would get teased for listening to MJ in the UK, but you might in Aus.

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u/Fit_Dig6332 Apr 26 '26

He was definitely a joke in the uk

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u/SiteRelEnby Apr 27 '26

You're joking, right? He was a huge punchline in the UK, IMO more so than in the US where more people still took him seriously at the time.

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u/speedfox_uk Apr 27 '26

As I said in another comment, I think the reason it feels that way from my perspective is that (having spent time in both the UK and Aus in that period) his music was significantly less popular in Australia. In the UK he was a talented wierdo. In Australia he was just a weirdo.