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Step beyond the headlines and explore Michael Jackson’s own words in some of his most revealing and heartfelt interviews. From candid conversations about his artistry and family to moments addressing the rumors and struggles he faced, these interviews offer an intimate glimpse into the King of Pop’s life. Rediscover the man behind the music as we highlight compelling discussions that show various sides of Michael Jackson rarely seen elsewhere.
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00:00Being around, you know, everyday people and stuff, I feel strange, I do.
00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:06And today, we're looking at Michael Jackson interviews worth revisiting
00:09for viewers interested in hearing his own words following the release of Netflix's The Verdict.
00:15So they're so quick to call you strange and weird.
00:18It's almost as if you're forced to be different.
00:22Number 10, his interview with Barbara Walters, 2020.
00:25This interview is forever marked by the shadow of Princess Diana's tragic passing,
00:31which hit Jackson hard both personally and as a fellow target of relentless media scrutiny.
00:36I've been running for my life like that, hiding, getting away.
00:39You can't go that way because they're over there.
00:41Let's go this way, pretend we're going that way, and we'll go that way.
00:44So much to say, hold on, stop.
00:46This person deserved their privacy.
00:48The conversation turned to the ever-blurring line between public persona and private life.
00:53With Walters pressing Jackson on his complicated relationship with the press,
00:57Jackson pushed back, insisting that sharing his art with the world
01:00did not mean surrendering his soul to tabloids.
01:03There's no mysterious behavior.
01:05There's a time when I give a concert,
01:08I'd like to have as many people who want to come can come and enjoy the show.
01:11And there's a time where you like to be in private when you put on your pajamas, go to sleep.
01:16He spoke candidly about labels and rumors that had dogged him for years,
01:20making a passionate case for his right to live authentically.
01:24In this moment, Jackson wasn't just defending himself.
01:27He was asking the world to consider the human behind the headlines.
01:30What you saw it happen to Lady Diana, you tell me.
01:34There should be some boundary, some kind of way.
01:37The star needs some space.
01:39Give him a chance to relax.
01:40He has a heart.
01:41He's human.
01:42Number 9.
01:44The controversial Martin Bashir interview,
01:46Living with Michael Jackson.
01:47You might think this is an odd one to include, but just hear us out.
01:52This is Michael Jackson as you've never seen him before.
01:56From the inside.
01:58His music.
01:59His money.
02:01His children.
02:02His sex life.
02:04His face.
02:05Sure, Bashir's documentary is a lightning rod for controversy.
02:08But when you look past the headlines,
02:10it's a rare window into Jackson's world.
02:13One that peels back the curtain on his creative genius,
02:16his philanthropy,
02:17and his life as a devoted father.
02:19We see moments of genuine warmth as he laughs with his children
02:22and opens up about his turbulent upbringing.
02:25What did your father say?
02:28Oh God.
02:29Yeah.
02:31It's pretty embarrassing.
02:34He used to tease me real bad about it.
02:36It's cruel, isn't it?
02:38Yeah, it used to hurt me.
02:39I don't think he realized how much he was hurting me.
02:41The fallout from this special didn't just fuel tabloid fodder.
02:44It ignited a firestorm of debate about journalistic ethics,
02:49trust, and the power of editing to shape public perception.
02:52Love it or loathe it,
02:53this interview remains a touchstone in conversations about media responsibility.
02:57And its ripple effects are still felt in pop culture and journalism today.
03:02I questioned him much further,
03:04but the confidentiality agreement he signed means we cannot show that part of the interview.
03:09My questions had upset him deeply.
03:12Number 8.
03:13Speaking with Geraldo Rivera.
03:15Geraldo at large.
03:16In 2005, with the world watching and speculation swirling,
03:21Jackson sat down with Rivera for an interview that offered a rare,
03:24composed look at his state of mind during one of the most turbulent chapters of his life.
03:28Tell me, tell me what the children mean to you, your own children.
03:31They mean, it's hard to put it in words because they mean everything.
03:34The way you would explain how your children make you feel.
03:36I mean, they're the world for me.
03:38I mean, I wake up and I'm ready for the day because of them.
03:41While legal topics were mostly off limits,
03:43the conversation became a showcase for Jackson's passions,
03:46his philanthropy, his faith, his devotion to family,
03:50and the creative spark that fueled his legendary career.
03:53Rivera and Jackson delve into the magic of Neverland,
03:56exploring what inspired its creation and why Jackson felt compelled to share it with others.
04:01It gave me a chance to do the things I never got to do when I was little.
04:04We couldn't go to the movie theaters.
04:05We couldn't go to Disneyland.
04:07We couldn't do all those fun things.
04:09We were on tour.
04:10We were working hard.
04:12Overall, it felt like the interview aimed to shift focus back to the human being.
04:16I love my community, and I have great faith in our justice system.
04:21Please keep an open mind and let me have my day in court.
04:24I deserve a fair trial like every other American citizen.
04:28Number seven, speaking to Diane Sawyer, primetime.
04:32This interview was nothing short of a pop culture event.
04:35Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley sat side by side,
04:39determined to set the record straight about their whirlwind marriage
04:41and the storm of allegations surrounding Jackson.
04:44We're spending a lot of time together.
04:45I don't know how I didn't manage to get in the press,
04:46because we weren't hiding it.
04:48I was in Las Vegas.
04:49We were in Neverland.
04:50We were everywhere.
04:51I went to Ed Lecoude, Atlanta.
04:52We were in bookstores.
04:53We were not hiding it.
04:54He forcefully denied all claims,
04:57describing his legal settlement as a desperate bid to escape a, quote,
05:00nightmare of false accusations, not an admission of guilt.
05:04So what I said, I have got to do something to get out from under this nightmare.
05:09All these lies and all these people coming forward to get paid and these tabloid shows.
05:14It was just lies, lies, lies, lies, lies.
05:16Presley fiercely defended their relationship,
05:18batting away rumors of publicity stunts and Scientology ties,
05:22and spoke candidly about standing by Jackson through his darkest moments.
05:26Despite their united front,
05:28this interview became fuel for endless media analysis
05:30and cemented its place as one of the most talked about moments in Jackson's career.
05:35He's amazing.
05:36I really admire him.
05:37I respect him.
05:38I admire him.
05:38I'm in love with him.
05:39And no, we don't sleep in separate bedrooms.
05:42Thank you very much.
05:44I love everything about him.
05:46Number six, talking art with Ebony and Jet.
05:49Ebony and Jet.
05:50For fans wanting a glimpse of Michael Jackson in his element, this is it.
05:54Do you sometimes regret being so utterly famous?
05:59No.
06:01Sometime.
06:02Only sometime.
06:03Sometimes I want to sneak into places and not have any hoopla or, you know,
06:09and it doesn't work all the time.
06:12Here, Jackson seems at his most relaxed,
06:15clearly enjoying chatting with an interviewer who feels more like a superfan than a reporter.
06:20Every question circles back to the music, the stories behind the hits,
06:24the creative process, and the passion behind albums like Bad.
06:27Sure, personal topics come up,
06:29but always through the lens of Jackson's artistry and vision.
06:32I tend to hold a feeling that no matter what you do in the world,
06:36it really has to start with you.
06:38It's my philosophy, too.
06:39If you want to make the world a better place,
06:41take a look at yourself and then make a change.
06:43It's as if the interviewer is just asking the questions he was wondering
06:46while spinning the artist's records.
06:48If you want to see Jackson celebrated as the pop icon,
06:52free from the noise of controversy,
06:54this interview is an absolute must-watch.
06:56It breaks all barriers.
06:58I don't have to make a political statement.
06:59I do all of that with music.
07:01It breaks all language barriers and everything to all races of people.
07:07It goes all over the world.
07:08Number 5.
07:10Sitting Down with Sylvia Chase.
07:122020.
07:13Now this one is interesting as Chase doesn't just sit down with MJ.
07:16She brings in Joe and Katherine Jackson,
07:19giving us an exceptional chance to hear the family's collective memories
07:22of the Jackson 5's meteoric rise.
07:24I decided to deal with the boys as much as I possibly can
07:29as far as rehearsing them and getting them prepared to be in show business.
07:34Did they resent it?
07:35Yes.
07:36They did?
07:37Yes.
07:37The conversation, taking place in 1979,
07:40is steeped in nostalgia and focuses on the artistry,
07:43ambition, and pressures that came with early fame.
07:46We even get candid reflections from his brothers
07:48about what it was like to watch their youngest sibling
07:51command the stage as the group's frontman.
07:53Michael has always been sort of the star.
07:55Yeah, he's been highlight the most because he's a lead singer
07:58and he's a front, you know.
07:59Perhaps most poignantly,
08:01Katherine Jackson reveals that while Michael came alive on stage,
08:04the spotlight left him more reserved and isolated off it.
08:07Michael is quiet now.
08:09When he was younger, he wasn't that quiet.
08:11But I don't know, I think the stage might have done that to him.
08:14Number 4.
08:15Shmuley Boteach shares Michael's words.
08:18The Michael Jackson tapes,
08:19a tragic icon reveals his soul.
08:22Rabbi Shmuley Boteach's collection of recorded conversations with Jackson
08:25offers a uniquely unfiltered look into the king of pop soul.
08:29So many of us who look at Michael as strange and weird,
08:31that's not what I experienced.
08:33What did you see?
08:36Indescribable pain.
08:37With Jackson's blessing,
08:38he captured hours of candid reflections
08:40that would later become both a book
08:42and a set of tapes released after Jackson's passing.
08:45These recordings were Jackson's attempt to reach out to a world that,
08:48in his eyes, never truly understood him.
08:51I was actually contemplating the almost insurmountable challenge last night
08:55of honoring Michael's wish to have his voice heard by a public.
08:59He knew he was deeply suspicious of him,
09:01but to really grab the serious nature of the message he was trying to communicate.
09:05He speaks openly about his profound loneliness,
09:08the pain of a childhood lost to fame,
09:10his longing for innocence,
09:11and his deep mistrust of the media.
09:13Rather than painting Jackson as a saint or a tabloid caricature,
09:17Rabbi Shmuley presents him as a complex,
09:20sensitive, and deeply human figure.
09:22Our culture thinks somehow that fame and fortune
09:25are an acceptable substitute for love and affection.
09:30But Michael discovered that these are empty gifts that leave you bereft.
09:35Number three, his interview with Ed Bradley, 60 Minutes.
09:39This interview stands as one of the most notable moments in Jackson's public life.
09:43This is totally false.
09:45I was outraged.
09:47I could never do something like that.
09:49He discusses the creation of Neverland,
09:51describing it as an attempt to recreate aspects of the childhood he felt fame had denied him.
09:56He explains that he wanted it to be a place where children could enjoy experiences
10:00that were often unavailable to him growing up in the public eye.
10:03And we have busloads of kids who don't get to see those things.
10:07They come up, sick children, and enjoy it.
10:10They enjoy it in a pure, loving, fun way.
10:14Bradley gives Jackson the opportunity to address the allegations against him
10:18and present his perspective.
10:20Jackson also discusses his experiences with law enforcement
10:23and the impact he said the investigations had on him.
10:26It really gave viewers an opportunity to check the headlines against the man they were about.
10:30At the end, I wanted the public to know that I was okay, even though I was hurting.
10:37Number two, MJ's rebuttal, the Michael Jackson interview, the footage you were never meant to see.
10:43If you thought the Bashir documentary was the last word, think again.
10:47It appears that after Mr. Bashir had called cut for his own camera crew,
10:52he may well have forgotten that Michael's camera was still recording his every word,
10:56a possibility supported by a written request from both him and the producers of his special
11:02to make Michael's footage available for their review.
11:06Unwilling to let someone else control his story,
11:09Jackson fired back with his own televised rebuttal.
11:12Hosted by Maury Povich, this special pulled back the curtain
11:15on the moments left on the cutting room floor.
11:17What hurts you most?
11:19When they lie.
11:20The lies.
11:22The complete lies.
11:23It featured interviews with Jackson, his family, close friends, and ex-wife Debbie Rowe.
11:29Here, Jackson reflects on his tough upbringing and his father's strict discipline,
11:33acknowledging both the pain and the drive it instilled in him.
11:37The special's mission was clear, to fill in the blanks, give fans the missing context,
11:42and let viewers decide for themselves who Michael Jackson really was.
11:46No matter what you may feel about what you've seen on this program,
11:49it's hard to deny that Michael Jackson is a complex and controversial subject
11:54who elicits a passionate response from virtually everyone who comes in contact with him.
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12:24Number 1.
12:26A groundbreaking interview with Oprah.
12:28Michael Jackson talks to Oprah.
12:30By 1993, Jackson was more myth than man in the eyes of the world,
12:35his every move fueling a firestorm of rumors and tabloid headlines.
12:39The more often a person tell a lie, the more times you hear a lie.
12:43I mean, you begin to believe it.
12:45If it's told often enough, you start to believe it.
12:49And it's appalling that things have been said about me.
12:52This interview allowed him to bypass the traditional press
12:54and speak directly to the public.
12:56By hosting Oprah at Neverland Ranch,
12:59he gave viewers an exclusive look inside his private world.
13:02Jackson also used the platform to address longstanding rumors,
13:05including his experiences with Vitiligo and the extent of his changing appearance.
13:10I have a skin disorder that destroys the pigmentation of the skin.
13:14It's something that I cannot help, okay?
13:17But when people make up stories that I don't want to be who I am, it hurts me.
13:21The interview served as a fragile bridge between Jackson and the public,
13:25offering a chance to see the man behind the myth.
13:28Sadly, that same image would be used against him not long after.
13:31I feel I was chosen as an instrument to just give music and love and harmony to the world.
13:39Are there any other interviews you'd recommend to MJ fans?
13:42Let us know in the comments.
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