Millions knew “Man in the Mirror” as Michael Jackson’s call to change the world, but a smaller message waited on the back of the 1988 single. Beside a personal dedication to a child named Yoshiaki, Jackson printed a promise that a portion of his royalties would help a camp for children with cancer. For fans … Read more
In 1995 a freelance writer named Victor Gutierrez told a television reporter he had seen a 27-minute videotape involving Michael Jackson. The claim spread quickly through tabloid coverage. Michael filed a slander lawsuit seeking $100 million in damages. The case moved through the courts for years. Gutierrez refused to produce any evidence of the tape … Read more
Seven years before his death, Michael Jackson signed a will answering one of the most private questions a father could face: who should protect his children if he could not? His first choice was his mother. Yet the backup was not another Jackson relative. It was Diana Ross, revealing a level of trust that went … Read more
Sometime between 1993 and 1996 Michael Jackson wrote a short note on yellow lined paper and sent it to Lisa Marie Presley. The words are plain and exhausted. He told her he truly needed rest because he had not slept literally in four days. He needed to get away from phones and business people. He … Read more
Ten semi-trailer trucks had carried a vast collection of Michael Jackson’s belongings away from Neverland. His famous entrance gates, stage clothing, luxury vehicles, artwork and personal furniture were being prepared for a four-day public auction. Yet Jackson changed course. On March 4, 2009, his company filed a lawsuit demanding that the auction house return the … Read more
In 1979, Michael Jackson was 21 and already famous from the Jackson 5. Yet on the back of a tour itinerary, he privately mapped out something much bigger. Decades later, a CBS crew entered a warehouse holding his personal effects and found the folded, worn page among the costumes, statues and memorabilia. It was not … Read more
In June 1989, 17-year-old AIDS activist Ryan White collected a shiny red Mustang from an unnamed benefactor. The giver had tried to remain hidden, but one question gave him away. Someone from Michael Jackson’s staff had called Ryan’s mother to ask which car her son had told the singer he wanted. The surprise was not … Read more
Most music charts in 2026 are filled with new releases from today’s biggest singers and rappers. Yet Michael Jackson has placed five songs on Billboard’s 25-position R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart. That gives the late King of Pop one-fifth of the entire ranking and leaves him only one appearance behind Drake, one of streaming’s most dominant … Read more
In 1992, a British tabloid put Michael Jackson’s face on its front page and described him in language meant to shock. The Daily Mirror claimed cosmetic surgery had left the world-famous singer hideously disfigured, visibly scarred and like a “scarred phantom.” Jackson did not answer with another interview. He started a legal fight that would … Read more
Michael Jackson had already created some of the most celebrated music videos in history when he appeared in one of the strangest projects of his career. In 1993, the King of Pop joined Hollywood comedy superstar Eddie Murphy for “Whatzupwitu,” a cheerful duet remembered less for its chart success and more for its wildly unusual … Read more