Most interviews with Michael Jackson started with Michael. This one started with two small children running through the door ahead of him.
It was the fall of 2001, and TV Guide had landed an exclusive sit-down with the King of Pop. The magazine ran it in its issue dated Nov. 10 to 16, 2001, so this week marks 25 years. The interview pages carried the headline “The Man in the Mirror.”
Michael was 43. He had a new album, “Invincible,” out since Oct. 30, and a big TV night coming. His CBS special, “Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration,” aired Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2001. That’s 25 years ago tomorrow.
The talk took place in a room at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Before Michael came in, his kids ran in first. Prince was 4. Paris was 3.
They didn’t sit politely in a corner, either. The two of them played on the floor at their dad’s feet the whole time.
Prince, especially, had plenty of energy. He crawled around the room with a rubber ball stuck on his nose, chattering away and poking the reporters on the cheek. At one point Michael tried, sweetly, to settle him down.
“Prince, shh! You promised me you’d be quiet, remember?”
Any parent knows how long a promise like that lasts.
If you’ve only ever seen Michael on a stage, this home video of him with little Prince shows the dad those reporters were meeting that day.
Michael at home with little Prince
Near the end of the interview, things got quiet. Paris crawled up into her father’s lap and curled up there while he stroked her hair.
That’s when the writer asked the question.
“Michael Jackson as a father. It is an image we never see. Are you a good father?”
Michael didn’t brag. He started with effort.
“I try my hardest. I try to bring them a lot of fun,” he said.
Then he told them about a once-a-year tradition at his house, one nobody would have guessed. “Once a year I dress up like a clown, with the whole gear, the nose, the paint. And I give them candy and cookies.”
The King of Pop, in full clown makeup, passing out treats to his two kids.
But he’d left something out, and somebody in the room noticed. From the floor, little Prince, smiling, set the record straight.
“And ice cream.”
Michael didn’t miss a beat. “And ice cream!”
So the King of Pop got corrected by a 4-year-old in the middle of a magazine interview, and he happily agreed.
A fan has uploaded the audio of this TV Guide interview in parts, and this is the last of them, so you can hear Michael’s voice from that Beverly Hills room 25 years ago.
Audio from Michael’s 2001 TV Guide interview
Prince is 29 now. Paris is 28. Both are grown, with lives of their own.
But for one afternoon in 2001, they were just two little kids rolling around on a hotel room floor while their dad talked to reporters. And when it came to the one question about what kind of father he was, Prince made sure the answer was complete.