michael jackson oprah interview transcript michael jackson oprah interview transcript

Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley: The 20-month marriage of the strangest couple in pop, Michael Jacksons nephew to star in King of Pop biopic, In Cuba with no sugar, spotty internet, and frustrated Kardashians, Christina Applegate attends probably last award show after multiple sclerosis diagnosis, Released audio suggests Greek train driver told to ignore red light, Ukraine outgunned 10 to 1 in massive artillery battle with Russia, Maestra en Big Data y Analytics 100% en lnea, MBA Administracin y Direccin de Empresas en lnea, Programa en lnea en 'Project Finance' Internacional, Maestra en lnea en Direccin de Recursos Humanos y Gestin del Talento, Maestra en Comercio Internacional presencial en Madrid, Espaa, Maestra en Marketing Digital & E-Commerce. Also, two moving vans showed up today at the rented L.A. home where Jackson apparently collapsed. By Callum Crumlish 12:25, Sun, Feb 19, 2023 | UPDATED: 09:47, Mon, Feb 20, 2023 Simpson, and Bill Cosby) crimes. But Jackson's reputation was seriously damaged. LEMON: Even though Jackson couldn't replace his earlier success, he never stops innovating. He was greeted by a crush of reporters and fans. SMOKEY ROBINSON, SINGER: Oh, in tribute to him -- how I feel about him, I would probably sing "Never Can Say Good-Bye." In 1993, Winfrey was personally invited to Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch for an interview with the notoriously private star. Pop icon Michael Jackson sat down for an intimate chat with. My father made me into a performance machine. Long-awaited, the buzz was big. Then moved back. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran's response to U.S. criticism of its presidential election will be crushing and remorseful. MJ: You're welcome anytime. Video of Michael Jackson showcasing his beatboxing and singing talent in an impromptu performance from 1993 confirms what we've known all along: MJ was a natural born entertainer. His mistake is that he took it way too far, so that he stopped being a curiosity, and he started being a freak. HIATT: I was looking in an old "Rolling Stone" article from a few years ago and someone said, you'll really know that Michael Jackson is broke when he announces a big European tour. And he's not breathing. viewers (millions) Series Air date Network Ref(s) 1: Michael Jackson: Oprah Winfrey: 62.30 "Michael Jackson Talks . So as a community, when we do see our people succeed, we want to cheer them on. ", In 1993, controversy about Michael's skin color was at an all-time high. Is it true that you sleep in an oxygen chamber to stay eternally young? Did you buy the Elephant Mans remains? Is it true that you wanted a white actor to play Michael Jackson as a child in a Pepsi commercial? Winfrey went through a litany of crazy headlines, all of which Jackson denied. Again, the 911 tape. However, Jackson's teenage years were awkward. Oprah also mentioned the criticisms she had been receiving on social media, with commenters asking why she would do this interview when Jackson can't defend himselfand also accusing her of "trying to bring the Black man down.". At the heart of this film are the stories of Robson and Safechuck, whowith appearances from their mothers, wives and siblingsdiscuss how they were discovered and mentored by Jackson from the ages of 6 and 9, respectively. Nobody says anything about that!, His physical appearance remained the focus of the conversation. LEMON (on camera): If someone asked you to sing a tribute to Michael Jackson at a service or whatever, what do you think he'd sing? His appearance had changed so much since he was a child star that there was much speculation about the work he'd had done. Of course, we're following developments out of Iran tonight. 10 best Oprah celebrity interviews of all time 1. This is the final curtain call. Nobody ever talks about that, but it takes you aback at first. Michael Jackson was adamant that he was a "gentleman" first and foremost while talking to Oprah Winfrey. to Oprah" February 10, 1993: ABC: 2 The Duke and Duchess of Sussex: Oprah Winfrey 49 . UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifty, OK. JOANN SAMS, SECRETARY, ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL: Oh, it was just unbelievable, because they were so young, but yet they were so talented. LEMON: It is Chopra's belief that prescription drug abuse was Jackson's downfall. I think he was responding to his fans by, at least showing them his face. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody like it anywhere in the world. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need an ambulance as soon as possible. He's trying to not affect the legal proceedings in any way. Oprah interviews Michael Jackson, broadcast live around the world from his home at the Neverland Ranch. And with that historic piece of vinyl, a phenomenon was born. Disfruta de nuestras lecciones personalizadas, breves y divertidas. It was not like watching a 50-year-old man returning to the stage. So when I heard about the new two-night HBO documentary Leaving Neverlandand the fact that Oprah was going to be interviewing Wade Robson and James Safechuck, the two men in the film who accuse Jackson of sexually abusing them as childrenI had a similar reaction to the rest of the world: Disbelief. LEMON: The shadow of drug abuse would follow him even into death. Michael Jacksons next two major interviews (with Diane Sawyer in 1995 and with Martin Bashir in 2003) would have even more disturbing questions. Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's 50 years old. In 1993, Oprah helmed what would become the most-watched TV interview of all time a title which the show still proudly holds. Meantime, members of Iran's government-linked militia are reportedly raiding homes and beating suspected protesters, who are believed to be taking part in nightly anti-government chants from Tehran roofs. Similarly, Safechuck recalls meeting Jackson while filming a Pepsi commercial; they developed a similar working relationship that morphed into sleepovers at the ranch. Robson and his mother moved from Australia to work with Jackson, and as a child, he starred in music videos like "Black or White" and "Jam," gigs that he says led to spending more and more time with Jackson, including sleepovers at Jackson's Neverland ranch. There were dozens of lawyers and bodyguards and assistants. OPRAH IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF HARPO, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2023 HARPO PRODUCTIONS, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Why can't we create the next instrument?" I guess what none of us could have anticipated was the album they would then produce after "Off the Wall." Because of that you became a great performer, and maybe even because you were not given enough love as a child, you wanted the world's love. GORDY: They were sensations. Jackson, he said, once asked him for a prescription. Of course, in all other meetings there were a whole entourage present. When he answered no, she commented that she wouldnt be either. And no one wanted it more than Michael. Oprahs 1993 interview closed with one of the last candid images we would see of Michael Jackson: Oprah and he walking toward the Neverland amusement park, as the camera pans up and music plays. There wouldn't even be the MTV that is now without Michael Jackson's influence. That right there, that will never be replaced. Simply titled "Bad." You look like you're insane. Michael Jackson was about to go from child pop star to the biggest star on the planet. LEMON: The transformation was complete. When Oprah broached the subject, Michael wouldn't get into specifics but said he'd had less plastic surgery than people thought. But that becomes problematic when sometimes, that means we turn a blind eye to their mistakes, or, in this case (and the cases of other public figures like Kelly, O.J. We're going to sleep. "Anybody who knew Michael Jackson will tell you that when you are up close to himhe had absolutely no pigmentation in his skinyou are looking at his veins when you look at his hand. He announced his farewell tour, This Is it, in a brief press conference on March 5, 2009, in London. BROCKMAN: We were alone in a room. So if it gets you, our audience, to see how it happens, then some good would have come of it.". My father was too strict, he was too much of a disciplinarian. "It was the most exciting interview I had ever done," Oprah says. He sat there on a daily basis, watching accusations hurled at him, suggesting that he was an insensitive monster. All the questioning that we have reviewed to this point occurred in just 30 minutes. In 1993, Oprah Winfrey made history by conducting the most-watched interview in television history. Michael Jackson Talks to. TARABORELLI: Nothing was the same after "Thriller." None of those episodes, she goes on to say, illustrated that fact the way Reed's film did. TOURE: I don't think anybody, even like the Iowa housewives, were saying, you know they're not sleeping together. LEMON: And his beloved Neverland was toxic asset number one. In the Black community, many of us feel an inherent need to "protect our own." She offered to have a child for him. And I know that it tore him to pieces. As the trial progressed, he got weaker and weaker, including that one bizarre day when he called in sick and the judge said, come in anyway. There are many people in the past who have done many things to themselves and they're not talked about like my brother is. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael Jackson doesn't just come along once in a century or a lifetime. Later, he added: "Michael told me it was love, that God brought us together. And, as unconventional as it is, if you really look at it, it's sort of surrogate motherhood. he looks soo mad wen the alarm goes offits soo cute. That's all tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN, live from Los Angeles. It's about the fact that every 11 minutes in this country, child protective services substantiates or finds evidence for a claim of child sex abuseand that's just the ones we know about. The Oprah Winfrey-Michael Jackson interview 30 years later In February 1993, the talk show host landed the first live, televised talk with the singer in 14 years. As a result, its lead single "Black or White" shot to number one. And he thinks he's being loving. I was previously the Digital Director of OprahMag.com, and before that, Senior Features Writer at Refinery29, where I also served as a video host and on-camera entertainment expert. THOMAS MESEREAU, LAWYER FOR MICHAEL JACKSON: It took a terrible toll. I warned them. SUZANNE DE PASSE, CEO, DE PASSE ENTERTAINMENT: He had the charisma, the talent, the voice, the -- everything it takes. He said he urged the singer to keep children out of his bedroom. The interview was one of those must-watch television events that stop everyone in their tracks; it presaged the massive viral video before the popularization of the internet: if one didnt see the interview, there was nothing to talk about the next day. Oprah : Michael Jackson is the seventh of nine brothers and sisters born in Gary, Indiana to steel mill worker Joseph and mother Katherine. His steelworker father, Joe, turned five of his boys into a band with five-year-old Michael out front. But in January of that year, Michael had just headlined the Super Bowl halftime show (the staging and format of which provided the template for todays artists performing at the years biggest football game) and won three American Music Awards. He filled the property with an amusement park, a private zoo, and dubbed the oasis Neverland. ", If there's one dance move for which Michael will forever be remembered, it's unquestionably the moonwalk. Not that the trial was going to end badly, but that something would happen to Michael. That's a lot of dates. She explained: "Here's the reason why I'm here. There he continued to surround himself with children in a make-believe paradise where he could relive his childhood. Stay up to date with the latest trends that matter to you most. NORRIS: There's a reason it's called "Neverland Valley." TOURE: When he dangled the baby, it's just here's Michael again being the class clown who doesn't even realize that he's the class clown. LEMON: Just a year later, Jackson was catapulted back into the limelight when he was featured in the Martin Bashir documentary "Living with Michael Jackson." Oprah Winfrey interviews Michael Jackson's accusers from "Leaving Neverland." By Meredith Blake Staff Writer March 1, 2019 6 AM PT Reporting from New York Oprah Winfrey is arguably the. "All I did was enhance the dance.". In 2005, Michael Jackson would go to trial and face perhaps the toughest six months of his life. According to television analyst Borja Tern, Oprah really knows how to create an atmosphere. And we started going, we started to get going. As Jackson's marriage began to crumble, so did his career. I knew it wasn't appropriate. And I would record for hours and hours until it was time to go to sleep. Just last year, a study by the Census Bureau and Stanford University found that no matter what their parents income level, Black men are less successful than white men on average. And Emmanuel Lewis was right there, underlying, like this is not sexual at all. This time, she wants to speak candidly about the intimate, personal details that made her relationship with Michael as complicated and misunderstood as it was. It was his greatest blessing, but, I think, also his biggest curse. Sometimes I do get angry. JACKSON: This one, this one -- CASTRO: Almost pathological in his spending ways. (END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: Coming up, Michael Jackson, from riches to rags. Jackson fans have also been vicious, as Winfrey also received backlash before the interview. Oprah is the queen of this format (her 2021 conversation with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is the most recent great example of the show-interview). We may earn commission from the links on this page. Leaving Neverland is about the childrenand adultswho are silenced by people like me who are quick to defend accusers simply because of their statusor the people who choose to live in silence because they are afraid of exactly that happening. Time said, Part soap opera, part show, the Michael Jackson interview was vivid, reckless and emotionally naked. Life opined that Oprah delivered as promised and accomplished something nearly impossible: bringing Peter Pan down from the clouds.. It was just sad. (I should note that for the record, Leaving Neverland was in production long before Surviving R. Kelly aired.). I know the creator will go, but his work survives. powerspyin1 Michael showed Oprah his Neverland Ranch, and once they settled in the theater, he talked about his social work and his interest in helping children. According to Winfrey, the conversation was unscripted and uncensored. I was never able to enjoy the simplest things that a child takes for granted in his life. It's a very complicated cultural dynamic with roots in slavery and beyond that would take me an entire separate article to unpack. BOTEACH: He repudiated the adult world. It would make me sad that I would have to go and work instead. Oprah Interviews Michael Jackson Accusers, Leaving Neverland Documentary Finally Convinced Me to Let Go of Michael Jackson, 30 Happy Songs to Play When You Want to Feel Good, Racial Bias in Healthcare Is a National Epidemic. THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. Michael Jackson, Oprah, Elizabeth Taylor, Debbie Rowe and many other people watching MJ talking to Oprah on TV in a bedroom: Link: The Mexico Deposition in 1993 and "Dangerous . The show received a 39.3 rating, just below the Jan. 22, 1987, episode of "The Cosby Show," which received a 41.3. HIATT: That's not really a comeback when it's your farewell. Are you a virgin? Michael sighed, laughed and replied, How could you ask me that question? Ultimately, he sidestepped a direct answer with an odd response. to Oprah is an American television interview special that was broadcast by ABC on February 10, 1993. It's happening in familieswe know it's happening in churches, and in schools, and sports teams everywhere. LEMON: It would take a year before a jury was seated and the trial began. SMITH: Neverland, which cost him around 19 million dollars in 1987, had a staff of about 150 at its peak, and all these carnival rides, exotic animals which required full-time veterinary care. Michael Jackson and Brooke Shields at the 1993 Grammy Awards, a few days after the interview with Oprah Winfrey. MICHAEL JACKSON: I would do my schooling for three hours with the tutor, and right after that I'd go to the recording studio and record. He was very, very controlled. And sadly, he really internalized that message. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have a doctor there? Winfrey . And we were so excited. The production was very skillful because the images told of all [Jacksons] eccentricities. NORRIS: And of course, it paid off for all of us, because, I mean, the idea of MTV without Michael Jackson's videos from "Thriller" is almost inconceivable. He's a 12-year-old superstar with thousands of people shrieking and screaming. And, worst of all, a potentially terrible father. (Video: HBO) Comment on this story The unprecedented live event, which took place before any allegations were made about sexual abuse, drew a worldwide audience of 90 million people. JACKSON: Yes. Almost all of the most watched TV interviews are from the United States, except one from BBC One. He said, no one wants to be mortal; we all want to be immortal. It just didn't seem possible. Tern notes that he believes that Michael thought the interview would clean up his image, but instead it showed the grandiloquence of his fame, of having no childhood, which knocks a person off kilter forever.. Michael Jackson talks to Oprah (1993) by Harpo Productions Publication date 1993 Topics Michael Jackson, Oprah, Oprah Winfrey, The Oprah Winfrey Show This is a UK airing of the famous interview of Michael Jackson by Oprah Winfrey in 1993. This is the first time I really had an opportunity to be completely alone with him. "Leaving Neverland" debuts Sunday, March 3 at 8 PM EST on HBO. There wouldn't be BET. So it'd be nighttime. The interview with Jackson took place at his huge Neverland Ranch, complete with its own amusement park and zoo. BEN BROCKMAN, ATTORNEY FOR MICHAEL JACKSON: I was trying my best to get him down. LEMON: Rowe gave birth to their son, Prince Michael Jackson, in 1997. TOURE: So he's doing the moonwalk. He made me rehearse too much. There is no song, album, or memory that is worth discrediting what happened to a seven year old little boy who was so young when he was being touched sexually, he worried that his abuser would turn into the werewolf from "Thriller." Ellen: I can defnitely hang out. LEMON: That album was 1982's "Thriller." Search the history of over 797 billion They were tremendous. It physically pains me to think about forever parting ways with "The Way You Make Me Feel," the one song that can cheer me up on even my worst days, or the fact that I will never again get to witness the way an MJ classic brings everyone together at a family party. "Forgiveness is not a line that you crossit's a road that you take.". But in this case, there is no separating the artist from the man. He pleaded not guilty. Did he ever hit you? Yes. Why? He was very strict; just his look alone terrified me. Mere months later, his public image would be tarnished forever And all you had to do was to look in his eyes and to know that was the truth. But their victory tour reviews were mixed. LEMON: Michael had another money-making trick up his sleeve. To no -- he's not responding to CPR or anything. Oprah's interview with Michael is one of the most-watched TV events in history, with 90 million people tuning in to watch and more than 7.8million catching up on the interview on YouTube since . At first that's a starling thing. Before Oprah's interview with Robson, 36, and Safechuck, 40, HBO screened all four hours of Leaving Neverland. I'm Don Lemon. When I think about my childhood, some of my earliest memories are lying on my living room floor watching Michael Jackson's .css-9cezh6{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#E61957;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-9cezh6:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Moonwalker film over and over, and Sundays on the way to my grandparents' house, bellowing the lyrics to "Remember the Time" from the backseat of my Dad's cherry red Jeep. During the interview, Oprah got a private lesson in the signature move. I can't even begin to summarize here everything that happens in those four hours, but if there is one message I can share: It is a must-watchespecially if you are a Michael Jackson fan. But his face was expressionless. QUINCY JONES, MUSIC PRODUCER: I said, you know what? We're finally hearing from the Jackson family. So off he went to the island nation of Bahrain. The album was a smash with songs like "Don't Stop till You Get Enough" and "Rock with You," reaching number one. CRAIG MARKS, FORMER EDITOR, "BLENDER" MAGAZINE: Hysterical adulation does play tricks with your mind. ), I shared the same mindset of many of the folks Oprah was talking about. Theres one other person besides Michael: portraits of Michael Jackson, painted by Ralph Wolfe Cowan on a gigantic canvas showing him as a knight in armor accompanied by his monkey Bubbles, a parrot and a cherub. LEMON: When we return, Michael on-stage the night before he died. Michael Jackson Talks . And then he would dance, you know. I don't know him the way I'd like to know him," he said. LEMON: Michael Jackson had probably drawn his last breath by the time this 911 phone call was made from a rented home in the Los Angeles hills. This is a UK airing of the famous interview of Michael Jackson by Oprah Winfrey in 1993. This man was a universal pop icon. LEMON: In 1986, a photograph of Michael asleep in an anti-aging chamber rocked the tabloids. LEMON: Physician Deepak Chopra, a personal friend, said he knew Jackson was taking narcotic painkillers. I'd like to take a shot at producing your record. A lot of people sort of paint him with that brush, but realize he was found not guilty. And his brothers were on stage with him. I'm going to miss him so much. For him it was a world of betrayal. You're looking at a person who is almost translucent.". LEMON: But Brockman says the superstar was terrified. It is bigger than Michael Jackson's fans, bigger than me defending the soundtrack to my childhood. Who wants mortality? MICHAEL JACKSON: I would do my schooling for three hours with the tutor, and right after that I'd go to the. "I had no understanding of it being abuseI loved Michael," he told Oprah. LEMON: Coming up, scandal rocks the gates of Neverland. He was very placid. DE PASSE: I went back one more time, mustered up all my courage. URI GELLER, AUTHOR: I was the only person who had the chutzpah to scream at him and tell him that this business of inviting children to his bedroom is wrong. LEMON: Ten million dollars a year he could no longer afford. Taking a cue from "Bad's" title, he became a crotch-grabbing tough guy, a far cry from his gentle, offstage personae. It was an exclusive talk with Michael Jackson who had refused to be interviewed for 14 years. NORRIS: Michael had begun to exhibit a certain, I think aloofness, and a tendency to kind of withdraw from the world. LEMON: An audition seen in this video from a documentary produced by Michael Jackson. JOHN NORRIS, FORMER CORRESPONDENT, MTV NEWS: They are songs that still hold up today. Here were three of the main takeaways from the hour: 1. It just made me very, very, very sad. LEMON: Fan clubs, trading cards, Michael Jackson dolls. LEMON: R&B superstar Usher. Of all the questions Oprah asked, none had to do with his sexual preferences. LEMON: The marriage collapsed less than two years after the wedding. DE PASSE: I was asked to come to see this group. But some wondered whether he could pull off a strenuous 50- concert tour. It could not be stopped. Oprah's Controversial Interview With Michael Jackson Was His First In 14-Years And Broke Records The interview took place at the 'Neverland Valley Ranch' back in February of 1993. After all, much of my aforementioned childhood also included walking by the TV and seeing headlines with accusations against my favorite pop star, first in 1993 and later, a much-publicized trial in 2004. On the weekends, I'm probably either having a margarita, adding new books I don't need to my TBR pile, or playing with my puppy, Leo. In 1993, Jackson spoke about both in this interview with Oprah Winfrey. LEMON: Millions in mourning. And another girl. The next question that followed was the most striking of the entire encounter, because it was asked of a 35-year-old man who had just claimed that he dated and had been in love. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a gentleman here that needs help. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. Id like to, Michael replied, apparently forgetting that he just implied that he was in a romantic relationship with Brooke Shields. He was horribly burned. But was damage done to his soul, to his spirit, to his gentle, kind way of looking at the world? TARABORELLI: Michael began to sort of surround himself with young boys, and much to, I remember, the chagrin of people who were working for him. LEMON: From the high school auditorium to the big-time. And in 1999, they divorced. He only comes along once. Don't treat me like a criminal, because I am innocent. The only way you become immortal is that your work lives on. He's not breathing? LEMON: Jackson needed to put distance between him and the taint of Neverland. Rick: Thank you so much. . So for me, it's time to say goodbye to Michael Jacksonone last time. The Watch OWN app is free and available to you as part of your OWN subscription through a participating TV provider. But this time, Jackson's stage was the roof of an SUV, outside the Santa Barbara County courthouse. In 1993, Ms. Winfrey's prime-time interview of Michael Jackson at his Neverland Ranch, . Some say the Jackson's turned to music the day their television set broke down, but from the day they started performing, they were destined for stardom. No barrier stood before this man that he didn't challenge, that he didn't break down, that he didn't tear down. I'm going to miss him. There is not a single thing or person in popular culture that is worth not protecting and believing our children. In the show, 44-year-old Jackson admitted to letting children sleep with him in his bed at Neverland. For instance, Leave Me Alone, from his 1987 album Bad, was the first song in what became something of a subgenre in his musical oeuvre: Michael lamenting media harassment and responding to it with music. Mejore su francs con solo 15 minutos al da. He's unconscious? HIATT: At the same time he was announcing these shows, he also made sure to say these are the final shows. The King of Pop was now a king in debt; a lavish lifestyle, and legal woes led him into near financial ruin. Jackson would turn to Quincy Jones, then musical director for "The Wiz," now a multi Grammy winning producer, arranger, and composer. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While we're on our way, did anybody see him? USHER: Being the first black artist to ever have a video played on MTV was pivotal for all of us. to Oprah" interview. Oprah's interview with Michael Jackson in February 1993 is the most-watched television interview in television history, with a staggering 90 million viewers. He was the seventh of nine children. OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: So he would tease you, make fun of you? LEMON: Brian Monroe sat down with Michael Jackson in September 2007 for "Ebony Magazine." Rick: Well, you just want to. Like what are we doing? LEMON: The king of pop. And that's what happened. So an auction of his most personal items seemed like the answer. He was sobbing. BROCKMAN: I feared for Michael Jackson. This content is imported from poll. In fact, in the documentary, Safechuck reveals that he only finally came to terms with his own abuseand opened up to his wife about itafter seeing an interview Robson did about his experience with Jackson on The Today Show in 2013.