Latest on MJJC

Michael became a "recluse"?

kottur13

Proud Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2009
Messages
1,549
Points
48
People claim that Michael became a recluse around the late 80's, not doing interviews and the like, but really?

I see more interviews and public appearances around the 90s' than any other decade, even though it was very tough for him for obvious reasons...

What's your opinion on the matter?
 
Well he did shut the media out during the 80s and he wasn't that interested in doing interviews.
I remember freddie mercury mentioning mike having lost interest in going out, he remodeled the encino home so that he wouldn't ever have to go outside.
During the 90s he did start doing more interviews and became more "available" you could say, for whatever reason i don't know.
But honestly to me, interviews with mike always seemed like special occasions, I never saw him doing them half as much as other artists did during album releases.
Though considering the way the media treated him and twisted everything he said, it's not hard to understand why he wasn't too keen on doing interviews.

But recluse isn't the word I'd use, he just wasn't interested in all the hoopla surrounding him and his name.. so he avoided it.... I don't see how not being an attention seeker makes him a recluse. It makes him a person who appreciates his privacy, but certanly not a recluse.
 
Last edited:
During his whole career (almost lifetime), he only did a few proper interviews!!!!

Michael was always shy when talking to people........that's probably why Oprah and Martin Bashir (that evil idiot) had to come to his home to do a interview. He even had to get Liz Taylor by his side during the Oprah one....

But its a damn shame he didn't do one in the last few years!!!!!
 
I wouldn't call him a recluse either, he was obviously very shy...That came natural to him...BUT, I really believe that another reason why he stayed out of the public eye was because he wanted to create an aura of mystery around himself - what being an incredibly gifted artist and entertainer would do...The whole world remained at the edge of their seats wondering when/if he would ever do an interview, or make some sort of appearance...What other artist did that and thrilled the world at the same time? Only Michael...
 
Nivea said:
I don't see how not being an attention seeker makes him a recluse. It makes him a person who appreciates his privacy, but certainly not a recluse.
Click to expand...
Thinking exactly the same thing.

He doesn't have to be in the public eye if he doesn't want to be, one certain occasion when he DID (Bashir:puke:), it arguably ruined his image and his career, and people wonder why he doesn't do things like that so often...

And he doesn't go out that much to do things he wants to do because he'd be bombarded with fans...hardly an enjoyable experience.
 
I always felt that the media labeled him a "recluse" because he wouldn't bow down to their every wish for an interview or comment on something, and preferred his privacy.
 
I remember Michael telling Geraldo that he couldn't go anywhere and that he didn't have much fun outside of his own property. Michael couldn't even move a finger without someone making a big deal out of it. There's no point in doing interviews if all that the journalists are going to do is twist and lie about everything.....which is what they did to MJ 99% of the time. His extraordinary fame forced him to back away from the public. I just think he wanted privacy and protection...nothing wrong with that :)
 
I agree with all of the above post but I also think that another part of the reason he didn't do interviews is because he knew the interviewer would focus on stupid tabloid nonsense then on what he really wanted to talk about which of course was the music. So wanting to create an air of mystery around him + the media twisting his words + the media's annoying tendency to focus on the wrong thing = not doing interviews.
 
The Oprah interview in 1993 was his first televised interview in......10 or 12 years if I remember correctly.
 
Well in a video documentary I heard that after Michael did not get too much press and interviews for Off The Wall he said that when he gets big they will be begging him for an interview and maybe he would give one or not. I always found that hilarious, that was his way of sticking it to the media while also staying mysterious imo
 
Micheal just didn't want to talk to the media. At least he played it smart and not give and say much to those folk. They would just twist his words and stuff.
 
I thought he might have been embarassed about his vitiligo which was becoming more evident at that time :(
 
Arklove said:
I wouldn't call him a recluse either, he was obviously very shy...That came natural to him...BUT, I really believe that another reason why he stayed out of the public eye was because he wanted to create an aura of mystery around himself - what being an incredibly gifted artist and entertainer would do...The whole world remained at the edge of their seats wondering when/if he would ever do an interview, or make some sort of appearance...What other artist did that and thrilled the world at the same time? Only Michael...
Click to expand...

iamthriller82 said:
Well in a video documentary I heard that after Michael did not get too much press and interviews for Off The Wall he said that when he gets big they will be begging him for an interview and maybe he would give one or not. I always found that hilarious, that was his way of sticking it to the media while also staying mysterious imo
Click to expand...
:yes:
 
^^^
yes totally agree as well

I also think that maybe he got tired of the intrusive and inappropriate questions

I mean REALLY - where do people get off asking him if he had sex when he had sex - what his orientation was??

Would any person stand for that? I know I wouldn't - I will never understand why they thought those were okay questions to ask. The press made it seem like it was a given that we should know these answers..

Fact of the matter is - what difference does or would it had of made....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top