BLACK HISTORY MONTH: February 10, 2023 – Did Oprah just…GO THERE?
She sure did.
Exactly thirty years ago today, in a time where must see TV was really MUST SEE – just VCRs, no Tivo, DVR, or On Demand – millions of us were watching television together for a LIVE sit down interview between Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jackson.
Michael, while regarded as eccentric and different, hadn’t seen court accusations that plagued him later in the 1990s and early 2000s. He was fresh off the release off a halftime performance at the Super Bowl, and the “Dangerous” album in 1991, with hits like “Black Or White” and “Remember The Time.” Sure, he had a crazy home and a chimpanzee that lived with him; but he was seemingly just an eccentric, very private, superstar who was, by all regards, quirky.
But his physical relationships with women seemed to be undocumented, which brought up plenty of questions.
And Oprah went for the big one.
What did Michael’s non-answer MEAN?
We’ll never be quite sure. But future marriages between Debbie Rowe and Lisa Marie Presley would indicate that Michael’s “V” card was taken, whether or not it had been at the time of this interview. And while this may have created some of the Michael mystique that he hoped to attain, it also clouded his name in that he wasn’t willing to give a straight answer.
So many questions remain about Michael Jackson, yet today. And while Oprah Winfrey’s full interview answered many of them…
…it didn’t answer every single one.
We won’t have all the answers, but today, let’s maybe just revel in the fact that man who was so private was willing to let us in, via Oprah, just a bit.
And THAT is something special.
