On the record & on screen
Media & Interviews
Famously private, Jackson gave only a handful of major formal interviews — and several became cultural events in their own right. Here they are, alongside the TV specials and the documentaries (during life and after) that shaped how the world sees him.
In his own words
The major interviews
| Date | Program | Interviewer | Why it mattered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979/80 | ABC 20/20 | Sylvia Chase | An early network sit-down around Off the Wall. |
| Feb 10, 1993 | Michael Jackson Talks… to Oprah (ABC) | Oprah Winfrey | ~90M viewers; live from Neverland; disclosed his vitiligo; still cited as the most-watched interview in US history. |
| Jun 14, 1995 | ABC PrimeTime Live | Diane Sawyer | With Lisa Marie Presley; first major sit-down after the 1993 allegations. |
| Feb 2003 | Living with Michael Jackson (ITV/ABC) | Martin Bashir | The bedroom-sharing comments triggered the investigation that led to the 2005 trial. |
| Feb 20, 2003 | Fox rebuttal special | Maury Povich (host) | Jackson's counter-cut, built from his own footage of the Bashir shoot. |
| Dec 28, 2003 | CBS 60 Minutes | Ed Bradley | First interview after his arrest; called the charges "totally false." |
| Feb 2005 | Fox News | Geraldo Rivera | Sympathetic pre-trial portrait filmed at Neverland. |
“He is the least weird man I have ever known.”
Elizabeth Taylor — on the live Oprah broadcast, 1993
Television milestones
The specials
Motown 25 (aired May 16, 1983) — the moonwalk's debut. The 26th Grammys (1984) — a record 8 wins in one night, the Grammys' highest-rated telecast. Super Bowl XXVII (1993) — the halftime show that changed halftime shows. The Grammy Legend Award (1993). And Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration (MSG, 2001; aired CBS Nov 13, 2001) to ~45M viewers.
On film & streaming
Documentaries about him
| Title | Year | Where | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Jackson's This Is It | 2009 | Columbia (theatrical) | From the cancelled-residency rehearsals; for over a decade the highest-grossing concert film ever (later passed by the 2023 Eras Tour film). |
| Bad 25 | 2012 | dir. Spike Lee | 25th-anniversary look at Bad. |
| Journey from Motown to Off the Wall | 2016 | Showtime, dir. Spike Lee | His rise through Off the Wall. |
| Leaving Neverland | 2019 | HBO / Channel 4 | Robson & Safechuck's allegations; the estate sued HBO. Context → |
| Leaving Neverland 2: Surviving Michael Jackson | 2025 | Channel 4 / YouTube (US) | Follows the accusers' legal fight. |
| Michael Jackson: The Verdict | 2026 | Netflix (3-part) | Revisits the 2005 trial; hit No. 1 on Netflix. |
| Michael (biopic, dramatized) | 2026 | Lionsgate / Universal | Antoine Fuqua's authorized feature, starring Jaafar Jackson. Full page → |
Film & song
The Free Willy connection
"Will You Be There" — recorded for Dangerous (1991) — became the main theme of Free Willy (1993), reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and winning the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Song.
"Childhood" — which Jackson called his most autobiographical song — was the theme of Free Willy 2 (1995). It was issued as the double A-side "Scream/Childhood", which peaked at #5 (there's no separate solo chart figure for "Childhood").
Sources