The King of Pop shocked the world in 1993 when he revealed in an interview with Oprah Winfrey the physical and mental abuse he and his siblings suffered from his father in childhood.
Oprah and Michael Jackson had a candid conversation about their personal and professional lives in February 1993. The interview was broadcast and watched by 90 million people, and according to Oprah the “most exciting and most-watched interview she’s ever done.”
The interview took place at Michael’s iconic ranch in California, “Neverland” and Oprah shared her excitement to talk to the King of Pop, who had fiercely turned down an invitation for an interview for 14 years.
On the left: Michael Jackson (1958 – 2009) relaxes under a tree, April 1970. On the right, Michael Jackson arrives at Santa Barbara County courthouse on April 29, 2005, in Santa Maria. Source: Getty Images Michael shared his painful and abusive relationship with his father throughout his childhood during the live 90-minute event.
During the 90-minutes live event, Michael spoke candidly about his traumatic and abusive relationship with his father, especially during childhood. The declarations were done before any allegation of sexual abuse against the artist.
At the beginning of the interview, Michael spoke about not having a “normal” childhood. He stated that he was sad to see children playing in the park right next to his studio, while he and the brothers had to work. Source: Getty Images. The ranch is an entertainment complex for children that covers 2,700 acres. It includes a zoon and amusement park as well as a train and theater.
The artist revealed that his appreciation for all things childish is connected to the fact that, as a child, he couldn’t do most things as the other kids normally do.
Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe, at the Closing Performance of Play “Sisterella” on April 28, 1996.
The “Neverland” ranch, a 2,700-acre property is an entertainment complex for children, that includes a zoon, amusement park, a train, and a theater.
Michael says that Joe Jackson, his father was very hard on him during his childhood. As a teenager, his father made fun of him for his pimples. Oprah asks Michael about his father’s relationship. Michael replied:
“I love my father, but I don’t know him… Sometimes I do get angry. I don’t know him the way I’d like to know him.”
Michael Jackson in concert in Bremen during the HIStory World Tour, 1997.
Oprah also questioned Michael about his decision of secluding himself from interviews for such a long time. The King of Pop replied that he didn’t have anything important to say, especially because that was a very sad period of his life.
The sadness he’s referring to is about his past life, teenagehood, and the relationship with his father that made him “very, very sad.” When Oprah asked Michael why Joe beat him, Michael wasn’t entirely sure:
“I don’t know if I was his golden child or whatever it was. It was a strict disciplinarian, some might say. But he was very disciplined. He was very hard.”
In an article posted on Oprah’s website a month later Michael’s death, in which she comments and recalls the most important parts of the interview, she said she was surprised at how honest Michael was about his father.
She did note that Michael’s father was still very difficult and uncomfortable at the time. Even more amazing is the moment he looks at the camera and asks for forgiveness from his father.
Joe Jackson would often pick on Michael’s nose. He referred to his son with the nickname “Big nose.” The insult haunted him for a very long time, and lead the singer to a series of surgical interventions. He had to wear a prosthesis to conceal the damage.
After his trial at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse on May 27, 2005, Michael Jackson left the courtroom. Joe Jackson was a violent, cold father when he saw the artistic side in his children.
Discovering the artistic side of his children turned Joe Jackson into a violent and cold father. He would beat them with a belt buckle or the cord of an electric kettle with the kids got anything wrong with the Jackson 5 rehearsal.
Michael eventually tried to stay away from Joe but he couldn’t escape his father’s shadow. During his interview with Oprah, he revealed that there were times that when his father would come to visit him, he’d get sick.
Even in his 40s, he admitted to many journalists that just the thought of his dad would make him nauseating. Jermaine insists that Michael’s father’s extreme behavior is what led to him becoming a perfectionist. Jermaine Jackson details in his memoir “You Are Not Alone: Michael Through a Brother’s Eyes,” his father’s cruelty was an attempt to keep his offspring in line and off streets.
Michael Jackson performs at the taping of “American Bandstand’s 50th…A Celebration” at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, April 20, 2002.
Jermaine goes beyond and claims that their father’s extreme behavior was the catalyst to build a perfectionist and ambitious Michael.
The writer Alexis Petridis pointed out in his article at The Guardian that during Billie Jean’s performance at the Motown 25th-anniversary concert in 1983, where Michael performed the Moonwalk for the first time.
Michael Jackson performs in Pasadena at the Super Bowl XXVII Halftime Show at Rose Bowl on January 31, 1993. Source: Getty Images It’s crystal clear that no level of physical or mental abuse would’ve been necessary to Michael Jackson become Michael Jackson.
It’s crystal clear that no level of physical or mental abuse would’ve been necessary to Michael Jackson become Michael Jackson. The writer says:
“It seems almost insulting to the level of talent on display to suggest that it required physical and psychological abuse to bring it out.”
Can we say that Michael’s eccentricities were a byproduct of unhealed traumas? Is it possible to question whether Michael underwent a series of aesthetic interventions to alter his appearance as his father made him his scapegoat?
American musician Michael Jackson (1958-1909) is seen standing in a graffiti-filled subway train during the filming for the long-form music videos for the song “Bad”, directed by Martin Scorsese. This was shot in New York, New York. November 1986.Source: Getty Images. Whether those are the real answers or speculations, it is impossible to know. Joe Jackson gave an interview to Oprah in 2010 where he confessed to hitting his children. Joe said that after being diagnosed with colon cancer in January 2019, Joe reached out and begged for forgiveness.
Whether the answers to those questions or simply the questions themselves are speculations, we will never know. It’s easy, though, to judge why people in the spotlight did such and such but the truth is, everyone has their history and personal reasons — whether that be good or bad.
On an endless pursuit for the “perfect appearance,” Michael changed so much if compared to the young child leader of the Jackson 5 but still, he’d never seem to be satisfied. He told Oprah:
“I try not to look in the mirror. I’m never happy with what I see.”
Michael Jackson poses at a press conference before date on his HIStory world tour in 1996. | Source: Getty Images
In 2010, Joe Jackson had an interview with Oprah, in which he admitted that he had hit his children but similar to Jermaine, Joe affirmed that “it had kept them on the straight and narrow.”
In January 2019, right after the diagnosis of colon cancer, to which he lost the battle and died, Joe reached out to his children to beg their forgiveness. A close source shared with Express:
“He now bitterly regrets the physical methods he sometimes used to enforce discipline and turn them into the highly polished and professional stars they became.”
The Jackson brothers and their father Joseph pose for a portrait in the backyard of their home, Los Angeles, in 1972.
At the end of the 1993 interview, Oprah asked Michael what he wanted to be remembered for, he said he wanted to be known for his love for his art and to “simply, be loved.”