Michael Jackson spent his childhood performing beside his brothers in the Jackson 5, turning the family name into one of the most recognizable in music. But years later, former Neverland employees made a startling claim about what supposedly happened whenever Michael came across old photographs of the very people who had shared those early years with him.
One former staff member claimed Michael once spotted a Jackson 5 photograph in an old Ebony magazine and disliked seeing it. According to the account, he then sent employees out with roughly $500 to buy more magazines containing pictures of his brothers, sisters and parents. What allegedly happened when those magazines returned was even stranger.
Michael Jackson: What the Maid Saw Inside Neverland | Extra Minutes
The former employee claimed Michael cut the family photographs into small pieces, scattered them through hallways and guest areas and treated the whole thing like a game of confetti. The allegation surfaced publicly in 2014 alongside several other stories from former Neverland maids about what they said they witnessed while working inside the property.
The most provocative part was what the employee claimed Michael said while doing it. According to the account, he called members of his family “gutless moochers” and insisted he was the real star. Those words were attributed to an unnamed former employee and were never independently established as Michael’s own public statement, which makes that distinction important.
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That allegation becomes even more interesting when placed beside the way Michael’s family has continued speaking about him publicly. In a much newer interview surrounding the Michael biopic, brothers Jackie and Marlon reflected warmly on Michael and the family legacy. Their comments do not prove or disprove what a former employee claimed happened at Neverland, but they show a far more complicated family picture.
Whatever private frustrations may have existed inside the Jackson family, their shared musical history changed popular culture. Michael went from performing with his brothers in the Jackson 5 to becoming the artist behind Thriller, “Billie Jean” and “Beat It,” while his siblings built careers of their own. Watch the videos above to see the very different accounts surrounding Michael Jackson and the family that helped launch his extraordinary career.