He revealed how he really felt about the King of Pop
Elton John once shared his true feelings about Michael Jackson by branding him a
‘disturbing person to be around’.
The British pop icon, 77, made the comment in his memoir, Me. He recalled his various interactions with Michael, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 50.
Elton described the King of Pop as ‘mentally ill’ and a ‘disturbing person to be around’. He revealed he first encountered Jackson when he was child, alleging that the late singer was a very different person in his younger years.
Elton John opened up about meeting Michael Jackson. (Matt Crossick / Alamy Stock Photo)
“I’d known Michael since he was 13 or 14,” Elton wrote back in 2019. “He was just the most adorable kid you could imagine. But at some point in the intervening years, he started sequestering himself away from the world and away from reality, the way Elvis Presley did.”
The Tiny Dancer hitmaker went on to share his thoughts on what caused the change in Jackson’s character, speculating that it was as a result of his prescription drugs use.
“God knows what was going on in his head, and God knows what prescription drugs he was being pumped full of, but every time I saw him in his later years I came away thinking that the poor guy had totally lost his marbles,” he continued.
“I don’t mean that in the lighthearted way. He was genuinely mentally ill, a disturbing person to be around.”
Elton’s words about Jackson’s alleged mental state come after the release of the series Leaving Neverland in 2019. A docu-series that revisited the sex abuse allegations made against the late singer.
On 25 June, 2009, Michael Jackson died at his Los Angeles home. (Kevork Djansezian-Pool/GettyImages)
Elton did not comment on the allegations specifically, but he did claim that he’d spotted a pattern in Jackson’s behaviour, alleging that he appeared to prefer the company of children to adults.
He wrote: “For whatever reason, he couldn’t seem to cope with adult company at all.”
Elton’s memoir was released in October 2019, 10 years after the passing of Jackson. On June 25 2009, Jackson died from cardiac arrest, caused by a propofol and benzodiazepine overdose.
His memorial, which was live streamed, was held on July 7 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, following by a private service for family at Forest Lawn Memorial Park’s Hall of Liberty. The late singer’s body was later entombed at the park, based in Glendale, California.
Jackson is survived by his three adult children, Prince, 27, Paris, 26, and Bigi, 22.
Featured Image Credit: Isaiah Trickey/FilmMagic/Kevork Djansezian-Pool/Getty Images
Michael Jackson apologised to singer for ‘stealing’ in one of his most well known songs
Michael Jackson is one of the best-selling solo artists of all time.
But the ‘Billie Jean’ singer ended up apologising to another artist for ‘stealing’ for one of his most well-known songs.
MJ had a four-decade career and still holds the title of best-selling album of all time with Thriller despite his death in 2009.
Fans have recently been enjoying seeing more behind-the-scenes work from Jackson after the release of
The documentary retells the night in 1985 when some of the biggest names in music got together to record charity single ‘We Are the World’.
Alongside Jackson at the legendary recording was the likes of Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, as well as Daryl Hall from Hall & Oates.
By this time, MJ had already had huge success from the likes of ‘Beat It’, ‘Rock with You’ and of course, the Thriller album.
Two years prior, ‘Billie Jean’ – which fans recently realised has a seriously dark meaning – hit number one across various countries and remains instantly recognisable from its very first opening bars.
But, according to Hall, Jackson hadn’t entirely come up with them himself.
You know the exact sound I’m on about, that iconic drum beat and hi-hat before a bit of a shaker as the bassline repeats on a loop.
Jackson previously described how he came up with the song while in the car and became so focused he didn’t even realise the vehicle was on fire.
But he went on to admit that the unforgettable intro was ‘stolen’ from another track – one by Hall & Oates.
Speaking with Q1043, Hall was asked about these rumours that Jackson had taken something from one of his bops.
The singer said: “Yeah, that was true… That happened at the ‘We Are the World’ session.
“You know, he came up and he said, ‘Hey man, I hope you’re okay with that… I stole ‘No Can Do’ for ‘Billie Jean’.”
There’s no denying there are some similarities between Hall & Oates’ ‘I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)’ and ‘Billie Jean’.
But Hall recalled: “And I said, ‘It doesn’t sound like ‘No Can D’o to me, sure, no problem!’ But he was really nice about it.”
The Greatest Night in Pop shows never-before-seen footage from the night all these stars came together for a moment that went down in music history.
But it also includes rather well-known clips, like Jackson’s stony reactions to others’ singing.
Featured Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images/Scott Legato/Getty Images
