Iconic music producer Quincy Jones was interviewed by Details Magazine, all to discuss Michael Jackson’s life and work. It’s a long interview, which you can read here, but Huffington Post has some of the best quotes. Quincy and Michael were professional and personal friends for decades, their collaborations going back to Thriller, Bad and Off the Wall. Many music critics point as that time period – the Quincy/Michael collaboration period – as Michael’s best, most creative, and most iconic. In my opinion, Quincy was probably a lot more than a professional mentor to Michael – Quincy was probably the closest thing Michael had to a loving, benevolent father, considering Michael’s actual father is a notorious bastard.
In the interview, Quincy riffs on Michael’s plastic surgery, but avoids talking about Michael’s sexuality. He also mentions that Michael was maybe worse off because he was a Virgo, which I think I knew at one point but had blocked from my memory.
Quincy Jones, the record producer who collaborated with Michael Jackson on Thriller, Bad and Off the Wall, has opened up to Details about his memories of his friend’s life and speculations about his death.
On Jackson’s ever-changing appearance:
Oh, we talked about it all the time. But he’d come up with, “Man, I promise you I have this disease,” and so forth, and “I have a blister on my lungs,” and all that kind of b.s. It’s hard, because Michael’s a Virgo, man–he’s very set in his ways. You can’t talk him out of it. Chemical peels and all that stuff.On Jackson’s skin condition:
It’s ridiculous, man! Chemical peels and all of it. And I don’t understand it. But he obviously didn’t want to be black.He also speculated on what exactly caused Jackson’s death, citing recent comments made by Jackson’s first wife Lisa Marie Presley:
I don’t know, man. I’m a musician. I’m not a psychiatrist. I would think that the pressure of the concerts and the debt and everything else…I know that Lisa Marie Presley said that she always thought he was going to die like Elvis .
[From Details via Huffington Post]
I’m a Virgo, and I totally think Quincy has a point about Michael’s sign adding to his own self-destruction. Not all Virgos are built the same, but we do tend towards the quirky and eccentric, to put it nicely. There are other words I could use, but I’ll just say this… Hugh Grant is a Virgo. Beyonce is a Virgo. Michael Jackson was a Virgo. Judge for yourselves.
As far as the whole “Michael Jackson didn’t want to black” thing, I don’t know if it was that simple. I tend to think Michael’s self-image wasn’t just about race, but Quincy would probably know better than me.
Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson are shown with Lionel Richie and Smokey Robinson on the HBO Special “USA For Africa: The Story of ‘We Are the World'” in 1985. Credit: WENN.com. Quincy is also shown on 11/13/08. Credit: PRPhotos
Not to sound morbid, but now that MJ is gone.. we are going to get a lot of people coming out of the woodwork with all kinds of “revelations” about the man’s private life… the ride down the MJ rabbit hole is about to get a lot freakier..
Like anyone who suffers from a body dysmorphic disorder (and I think MJ would classify), it’s about complete self-loathing. I hate to sound cliche about his childhood really doing a number on him, but his formative years were spent trying to win the approval of authority figures. I don’t think it’d be hard to assume that in such an environment, you never really know yourself outside of what other people think of you.
Couple that with beatings and verbal abuse, and voila. You get someone who thinks not only are they worthless sh*t but they’re nothing unless someone tells them repeatedly how great they are. Insecure is only the tip of the ice-berg.
Other commentators have noted that MJ has admitted to not wanting to look like his father, but again I think that’s only the tip of the ‘berg. I’ve always wondered why his two sisters (Janet and LaToya) had surgery to look more like him, while he was dedicated to erasing any familial traces from his body?
Ok, sorry for the long post. 🙂
Dear Quincy,
Many people have wondered if your own tendency to date/cohabit/marry white women is also a sign that you too don’t want to be black?
In other words, with all due respect, STFU in making these kinds of statement about MJ’s self-perception.
Last but not least, you are correct: you’re a musician, not a psychiatrist. Zip it!!!
In a documentary I watched recently, MJ talked about how his father ridiculed his nose, how big it was, saying Michael didn’t get that from Joe’s side of the family. I think his father’s treatment of him had a major affect on how he viewed himself and the changes he made to his appearance.
To correct Quincy, Lisa Marie didn’t say she thought that MJ would die like Elvis, she said Michael thought he would.
I don’t know, I have believed that he had vitiligo – I’ve seen pictures pointing out spots from around the time he says he was diagnosed. People with the disorder often get depigmentation, which makes your skin all the same. I always thought/believed that’s what he did.
Oenix u rock! I concur!
I imagine Quincy Jones can say what he feels in requards to MJ.
@BISS: I always wondered too, why everyone opts for Mike’s nose. The boys with their original nose look so much better. This ‘new nose’ is too thin for their eye shape
Having known a person with vitiligo, and having seen how this disease develops and changes a person’s skin through the years, I am not that skeptical about the possibility that MJ had this condition.
Obviously vitiligo progresses gradually and you are left with patches of discoloured skin. But I think it is quite possible that MJ suffered from it AND used bleaching to achieve a uniform skin colour. I am also not sure that you can bleach black skin that aggressively with such drastic results without an underlying condition such as vitiligo.
You know, regardless of who comes out of the woodwork with stories to tell about MJ, I doubt anyone, regardless of how well they knew him, will really be able to throw any light whatsoever on why Jackson did what he did to himself. We’re not talking about a rational adult being here, we’re talking about a damaged man-child whose behaviour in almost every aspect of his adult life was pretty much contrary to the perception of normal, aka bizarre. Bizarre in life, bizarre in death, don’t think there’s a rational explanation out there for MJ.
Kaiser, please leave the virgos alone. And what is wrong with Beyonce? You put her between Hugh Grant and MJ, that is so wrong!
virgos are not the eccentric or quirky sun sign. they like order and are meticulous and practical. they are known to be stubborn though.
What struck me this last weeking watching all those old videos is how mature little MJ was and how he regressed as years went by. He was tragic but he was an icon.
Photographic evidence of Michael Jackson’s vitiligo dating back to the late 70s at popspiracy.blogspot.com.
Sad to read people who claimed to be friends commentary once he died, makes you realize he was surrounded by so much fakeness. RIP.
I never got why Joe Jackson singled Michael out with the “big nose” comment. The other siblings’ noses looked exactly the same to me, and so does Mr. Asshole Jackson’s.
And yes, you can bleach skin whiter than white, with skin bleach. Ask any d!ck/balls-bleaching pornstar, oh – and Lil Kim.
But I believe the vitiligo story somewhat and him bleaching everything else to match.
So we’re blaming MJ’s personality issues on his star sign now? Give me strength. The human capacity to ardently believe utter bollocks never ceases to amaze me.
big shocker there!
Clearly he didnt wanna be a man either. He really started to morph into a woman towards the end.
I think it was Rupert Everett who made the point that Michael Jackson’s behavior and R. Kelly’s was the same, but because Michael’s was homosexual, he was demonized far more than R. Kelly. I do agree with this. R. Kelly is/was a pedophile with pubescent girls, 13, 14 years old, but his behavior is considered more “normal” because it is heterosexual deviancy, so he did not get nearly as much condemnation as Michael. Naturally, it goes without question that pedophelia is criminal and wrong no matter what, but somehow the homosexual aspect in MJ’s case made it more “deviant” and “abnormal” in people’s minds. I’d honestly like to get people’s feelings on this. Thanks.
I totally agree with Because I said so. Two days ago i read something about this disease (body dysmorphic disorder), and everything seems to fit in MJ life and personality.
About Quincy Jones?! Guess MJ was right when he told in a interview that the only people who never lied to him were children. What a great friend this Quincy is!! Six days after MJ death he comes and say the most horrible and stupid thing that any friend can say: “Michael didn’t like to be black”.
Wonder why MJ didn’t trust anyone and died alone. With friends like that, is really better to die alone.
Virgos are notorious for being nitpicking perfectionists, attached to minor details to the point of fixation. This often means fixating upon flaws or ‘percieved’ flaws without the ability to concentrate on a wider lense… ie. focusing on the loose thread, rather than the color of the fabric.
Michael obviously felt he was flawed. What the world saw as a talented young man, he saw as an ugly imperfection.
I’m with embertine. Also, aren’t Aquarians known as the wild quirky sign? I’m pretty damn sure they are.
The Curious Case of Michael Jackson – he started off as a 42 year old man, and regressed into a 9 year old boy…
as far as i know, there isn’t a procedure that changes a person’s race… this guy sounds like a total f**king a$$hole…what a nice way to commemorate a friend… yeesh
i dunno if mj had vitiligo… but my friend’s mom had it and one way to ease the person’s mental suffering is to give them medication that evens out the skin tone… usually resulting in paler skin…
in any case, hasn’t all of the jackson family gotten a nose job? right down to katherine jackson… i don’t think anyone in that family has their original nose… it’s very odd… something about that family’s father gave the kids all the same complex… they all seemed to have opted for the thin noses, the cheek implants and chin clefts… very very odd… i dunno what that guy’s father did to his kids… but it seemed to be very persuasive…
another thing i always found interesting about mj is that he seemed to have a really great swagger and confidence in his videos… the way he moved his hips and his strut… etc.. it’s like he knew how to “look” cool… but he himself was a very strange man…whereas most people i know who are weirdos couldn’t pull off any sort of swagger if their life depended on it. they have no concept of what is “cool”. somehow he had the act down pat… i dunno, strange man he was…
What does the astrological sign have to do w anything? Do ppl really believe if they were born 1 wk earlier or 1 wk later it would completely change their character, personality & possibly even their lives? Gimme a break
michael was so handsome when he’d had just a little facial surgery. wish he had stopped all that a long time ago.
and i think if he hadn’t taken ALL those drugs, he’d never have kept getting the stupid surgeries and chemical peels. he lost his sense of himself there.
it’s pretty sad.
!: yes we water babies hold the title on that one
MJ had a german manager for many years.
they broadcasted an interview with him here in germany last friday. he says that he once spend some time with MJ in Vegas.
In the hotel room they were looking down at the pool at people tanning in the sun.
he quotes MJ sayin: i dont understand it. white people try to get brown skin and no one fusses about it. but if i like to have white skin its an overtheworld scandal. the manager quoted MJs mother sayin: he could afford it so why not.
Wow. In death, Michael Jackson didn’t have any real friends at all. Shame. Quincy Jones married a white woman and has mixed children, I would expect a little more from him. Michael absolutely had Vitiligo, my aunt has it so I’m perfectly familiar with what it looks like and I stood next to MJ in 2004 and you could see the blotches on his hands. popspiracy.blogspot.com has full photographic evidence of his Vitiligo dating back to the late 70s. Poor man still can’t get any peace.
I checked out the pictures posted on PopSpiracy and they don’t seem to show vitiligo as it has been pictured/documented in the past, especially against a medium-brown complexion.
The skin-bleaching combined with the fact of ‘acquiring’ children who have no genetic link to yourself, combined with bleaching of the children’s hair, straightening of MJ’s hair, numerous plastic surgeries, etc., etc. seem to point to the body dysmorphic disorder as opposed to reacting to a case of vitiligo.
It is very strange that many of his famous siblings opted to have the same nose jobs as MJ when they were all so beautiful in their natural state.
The saddest part seems to be that with so many people claiming to be in his inner circle, wives, siblings, co-workers, etc. No one seemed to be able to get MJ real help.
Also, I used to believe that MJ must have been a pedophile given that two cases were brought against him, but reviewing the info available years later doesn’t quite seem to add up.
Again, this is not news. Anyone with common sense knows that MJ did not want to be a black man! It is mind-boggling to me that people have an issue with believing this. The self-hatred this man felt was clearly evident when you look at the ‘man in the mirror.’ This is a man who was born black and died white. The overwhelming amount of work that he did to alter his body features,(not just his skin color) and the fact that he bought white children to pass off as his own, has been the proof for years.
MJ had issues that went beyond his f’d up upbringing. His life revolved around trying to live up to a white standard of beauty. Big noses are ugly, thin noses are attractive, big lips are ugly, thin lips are attractive, dark skin is ugly, white skin is attractive, Kinky hair is ugly, straight hair is attractive. No matter how much he tried to live in ‘Neverland’ or ‘netherland’ with all the drugs he was taking, the real world still beckoned. Please don’t deny this.
So I wonder if white people who tan don’t want to be white either? *roll eyes*
Hmmm…
And based on Quincy’s response, this is HIS belief that MJ didn’t want to be black. No where is he claiming that MJ told him “Hey I don’t want to be black”.
I’ve lost some respect of Quincy for this one. Talking all of this mess and the dude hasn’t even been buried yet. No class at all.
I think MJ really did have vitiligo and depigmentation therapy. He didn’t love himself, no, he admitted to that but I don’t believe anything he did was to distance himself from being black. Maybe to distance himself from his father if at all but not his race. The mess this man is putting out is just wrong. I thought the two of them were completely close. What happened to that?
wow, its funny you should mention tanning. michael used the same argument.
I’ve thought for a while that it wasn’t that he didn’t want to be black, but that he didn’t want to look in the mirror and see his father, because he did look very much like his father before the surgeries, and would most likely have looked a lot more like him as time went on. That combined with all the pressure an entertainer feels about his appearance, to me was a perfect set up for some serious neurosis about his looks.
I agree with Dark’s post.
And let me add that Michael Jackson is no longer here to defend himself so people should stop talking about the negative and remember him for his goodness. Say… 39 Charities. Who here can say they have donated and supported 39 charities. No one is God to know about what really went on in Michael’s mind and what he did or didn’t do. Leave it alone.
Dang why don’t some of you people take out your life’s frustrations on something else.
First of all, Quincy Jones has known the man for most of his life. They were friends and they worked together for years. Even MJ said this himself.
And I’m willing to bet that every person that has posted that MJ’s surgery and skin bleaching had nothing to do with his race, are all white people. Racism is alive and well everywhere in America except when you ask white people.
Body dysmorphic disorder. I have it, but it’s being treated, successfully, and thankfully I’ve never had the money for plastic surgery. I’ve seen it in MJ for years.
I’ve also long doubted that he’s heterosexual, not that it matters. I never really knew whether the pedophilia stuff was true or not.
I really doubt he had that skin disease. I think self-loathing was his problem.
well,you must mean self- racism,then,too,blk girl…white ppl don’t think racism isn’t reality,we just don’t think ALL racism is white against black…
I speak for myself,anyway…
The way racism has been simplified in 2009,is ridiculous…you’d think europeans are the only ones who have ever shown racism in the history of the world. Go to Korea,china,japan,you see racism against anyone whose not korean,chinese,japanese,for example. [No,not every citizen of said countries—just to clarify,no sweeping generalizations,just an example.]
It really doesn’t matter what I think of MJ.
I DO think part of what he felt,as he referred to himself as similar to ET,was alien-like: why am I on this planet and what does skin color have to do with anything,anyway?
I think he was tired of the crutch/cross,but also tired of having to break down barriers in reference to it,as well. Just my opinion.
To Blkgrl: First, i guess you’re wrong cause i’m a black girl and i do think that the changes MJ did to himself, or to his skin color, as you prefer, were not based on racism or anything else. I’m pretty sure that this as to do with Body dysmorphic disorder. You can google and have some valid informations about this disease.
Second, we, black people, are the first ones to bring the racism issue to the table. If MJ were white and turned himself black, i bet the white community would make such a big deal out of it. But once again i must say, black people still have a lot of ghosts inside their heads. We are always telling ourselfs that white people are racist or that we don’t have the same opportunities in society like they have. Maybe in some cases that it’s true, but in some others we create that division. Your post just proved what i said.
To finish, and talking about this article, Quincy Jones may had work with MJ for years or even have been his friend, but his comments were totally inappropriate for a person who knew MJ so well. It proves that he don’t know how to speak to the press or even how to articulate an intelligent speach. Too bad, i think!
I don’t think MJ had a problem with being “black” per se. I think he had low self-esteem and just wanted to be treated better. Usually, the whiter you look, the better you get treated. But, clearly he had other issues. He went to a non-human extreme in transformation, so something must have been “off” psychologically. As a black, I empathized w/MJ, even though I would never go to the extremes he did to change. It’s a sad story. I loved him, and I’ll miss him. BTW, Quincy doesn’t strike me as THAT “pro-Black”. If he were, why doesn’t he ever pick a woman with a face/color like his own? Everyone has their right to choice, but I don’t think he should speak about (not) wanting to be black.
Qunincy is full of shit, he talks about Mj not wanting to be black which is a funny comment comng from a guy who never date or married a that wasnt white
even tupac sang in his song about how funny it is you never see quincy with a black woman LOL,
Not that am saying quincy cant date or marry anyone he wants(its a free country , free world),but he needs to STFU but MJ distancing himslef from black cluture or things black when he himself has a hint of doing that very same thing.
I truly believe he wanted to be Peter Pan. Compare his more recent pictures to the Disney animated Peter Pan, and they look strikingly similar. Plus Neverland Ranch? He really didn’t have much of a childhood at all, it’s no wonder he wanted to regress to a permenant boy.
So… some of you actually view astrology as science? Wow.
I think every time Michael looked in the mirror as a young man, he saw his father’s ugly berating face and wanted to become something completely different… the total physical opposite of his dad.
Here’s the deal nobody seems to see. Just remember MJ and his Diana Ross days. He changed, trying to look like her. He wanted to be her. Then he kicked her to the curb as an idol and went full throttle, balls to the wall Liz Taylor.
He wanted to be a gorgeous white woman who is Elizabeth Taylor. Not so much hating being black, he wanted to look white because Liz is white. He started the skin bleaching when he was first into her. In reality and not economically/socially, African skin is much more beautiful than white or Asian skin. Blacks are born with ‘makeup’ already applied. But socio-economically every race prides itself on the lighter skin. Asians even have skin whitening products galore (Shiseido even has a line. Look it up). That is because the white race is innovative and has had to be because of their environment. Whites had to have their act together as winter approached or they would die. If an alien came to earth, I’m sure they would find the dark colored pigment more beautiful. This is why people tan or use fake bake. Darker skin is beautiful but because of necessity and economics it is considered less than in African American cultures, caste systems in India and Asia. Light colored eyes are another subject. Sorry for the mini novel here but I think people aren’t looking at the Diana Ross/Liz Taylor dynamic re: MJ.
Oenix— YOU ARE AWESOME!
And ALL skin colors are EQUALLY gorgeous, from deep ebony to warm golden honey (which is my family – white, Hispanic, and Asian) to dove white.
It’s extremely stupid to even talk about… which skin color is the “more beautiful.” For me, it’s always about the person underneath. Nothing is more beautiful than a beautiful soul, and people with beautiful souls come in ALL different skin colors.
Did MJ not say : ‘If you’re thinkin’ about being my baby it don’t matter if you’re black or white If you’re thinking about being my brother it don’t matter if you’re black or white’
Michael Jackson broke down barriers. I come from a small town in Tennessee – a place where one might expect racism and it was great because white kids and black kids were all dancing to Michael and having fun and we learned that the only real differences we have are our skin colors. We feel the same emotions, share the same ambitions, cared about the same things… racism is dying everywhere. Everyone should be treated the same. Mr. King spoke about it and Michael sang about it.
Michael was a very handsome man and it’s a shame no one could help him or stop him from going to far. As far as it goes for him wanting to be white, it don’t know what was going on inside of him. I do feel like it may have been part of his effort to distance himself from his father. So sad… The world has lost a precious treasure. sorry this is so long.
Q.J. seems to have severe self-hate issues himself, considering that all the moms of his kids are white! So maybe he should analyze his own deep-seated issues before he talks recklessly about MJ.
Michael was sensitive and being hold your ugly and being called big nose when your a child could cause these self loathing issues.
I thought today while watching young Michael on TV if someone came up to him with a picture of what he looked like in the end…a ghostly white man with a destroyed nose, huge chin and cleft..and if they said “this is why you’re going to look like” what that little boy would have said and thought?
| I thought it was weird that LaToya and Janet looked like him too because of plastic surgery they got to look like him. Just as Michael was, before any plastic surgery a presenter mentioned Michael’s looks he said “he’s got the looks” while Michael was standing there..and he did, he was already handsome, but really after Thriller/Billie-Jean he should have left it at that or at least Bad. His skin was a bit whiter then but he could still pass as black.
He even said how come no one talks about white people who make themselves dark sunbathing? but worse I guess is self tan and sun beds which MJ didn’t point out and it’s true…people go on about him and any whitening products black people use to get white but no one says anything about white people making their skin shades darker.
People suite what they were born with, people are beautiful in their own colour and their own skin. People as while as MJ became suit it because they usually have lighter eyes and hair too because he didn’t just go white..he went paper white. For some reason he didn’t want biological kids – they would have been black if he had. And his nephews in his music video were actually really good looking so surely it wasn’t because he thought he’d produce ugly children but because he thought black was not a good colour to be..? On stage he was a different person, so awe inspiring and amazing…after all Thriller still is the best selling album of all time, he truly did hold the world in the palm of his sparkly gloved hand but then he was also such a painfully shy self conscious, self loathing man who wanted to self mutilate his face? or wanted to look in the mirror and see someone else, a face that wasn’t his, so that he could hope to disassociate from Michael Jackson’s pain?
Psychologically he is so interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=435uzLbdmNA
I was just watching this and something struck me…his hand. It’s around the Smooth Criminal time I think cause he’s talking about it, and its got this bit where he’s practising or something in the outback it looks like, they zoom up on his hand which is a black hand but there are white patches on it. The tip of his thumb is all white and there’s bits of pink too. So maybe he wasn’t lying, maybe Quincy’s wrong and maybe he really did have that disorder!
WOW… Someone told me Michael Jackson’s so-called friend Quincy was speaking ill of him now that he’s gone. I didn’t believe it, but now I’ve seen it for myself. Quincy has a lot of nerve suggesting MJ wanted to be white. How ignorant. What about him? N______ please!!! Aren’t all of his wives white? Not to mention, when the going was tough in America for Black musicians, he hauled ass and went to Europe leaving his friends like Ray Charles here to fight for his Civil Rights. Now, that all the heavy lifting is done, Quincy has become one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Civil Rights Movement. Quincy ought to be ashamed of himself. He’s the biggest sellout around. Quincy is an Uncle Tom from way back! He needs to stop talking ill of the dead.
Dear QUINCY,
How dare you wait until your dear friend and colleague has passed and give such a disgraceful interview. Why didn’t you say these things when he was alive?? SHAME on you. I really thought you were better than that. Michael cannot defend himself and how dare you try to disgrace his legacy with your inappropriate thoughts. I hope all of Michael’s true friends read your comments and know what type of person you really are.
Cicely Tyson was on CNN today and stated that Michael really and truly did have that skin disorder. She stated that was how the glove came about because the discoloration started on one of his hands and the designer who designed the glove was also Ms. Tyson’s friend and designer.
He did have Vitiligo, which does indeed look in the photos as it does in those who suffer from it. My aunt has it so I know exactly what it looks like. Also, his dermatologist confirmed it.
HEY ALL U PEOPLE WHO DONT NO WHAT HAPPEND STOP MAKING THIS CRAP UP!
HE HAD A RARE SKIN DISORDER WHICH RAN ON HIS DADS SIDE OF THE FAMILY AND HE GOT IT. THE SKIN DISORDER BLEACHES ALL OF UR SKIN AND THEN U LOOKE PORCELIN WHITE!
I SHOULD NO CUZ I HAVE IT!
(NOW LATOYA IS A DIFF STORY!8D!)
OK then… I’ve done a lot of research on vitiligo. I have it myself.
People don’t seem to know what they’re talking about. There have been studies done which seem to show that vitiligo is not easily passed down. I’ve been told by a very reputable doctor who specialises in the condition that although it has been shown to be genetic, if both parents have vitiligo the chance of the child getting it are about 2 or 3% as opposed to about 1% if neither parents have it. The fact that some of his children have it don’t prove very much.
Part of me says that he probably didn’t have it. For example, if he really hated vitiligo, why didn’t he ever donate to a vitiligo society? I know he was in a lot of debt, but he somehow scraped together 400 million for other charities. Surely he would understand what other people were going through and would want to help them as well?
Skin bleaching products were found at his house after his death, and I doubt they were there for innocent reasons.
Some people think that because of the abuse he suffered, he wanted to be accepted globally. A small number of those people think he wanted to appeal to everyone, so he was never fully here or there. He was a man but was quite feminine in his voice and with his hair, he was black but was white when he died, etc.
That’s just my opinion, anyway.
And just for the record, I love Michael’s music. I’m not dissing him as an artist, ’cause he was great.