He said, “We was going out, and my family’s leaving backstage, and all we seen was a red Corvette, and it was Prince. He tried to run my whole family over.” I said, “You serious?” He said, “Yeah. Yeah, he did.” And it was on after that. Michael Jackson and Prince were two of the biggest legends in music history, but beneath the fame, there was real tension.
Reported private recordings, backstage stories, and old interviews all point to a rivalry that was far deeper than fans ever knew. And when you hear what Michael said about Prince, it becomes clear this was not just competition, it was personal. In the private recordings connected to Michael’s Moonwalk autobiography sessions, he opened up far more honestly about how he really felt.
He said, “I don’t like to be compared to Prince at all. He was so rude. One of the rudest people I have ever met. Prince is very competitive. He has been very mean and nasty to my family.” He went on to say, “I have proven myself since I was real little. It’s not fair. He feels like I’m his opponent.
I hope he changes because, boy, he’s going to get hurt. He’s the type that might commit suicide or something.” And that is what makes this story so striking. For years, fans saw them as two giants of music, but these recordings suggest the tension between Michael Jackson and Prince went far deeper than simple competit
ion. Meanwhile, will.i.am has shared a story about the long-running tension between Michael Jackson and Prince linked to a famous early 1980s James Brown concert moment. During the performance, Prince nearly fell on stage after grabbing what he believed was a solid prop. The incident later frustration with Prince thinking he may have been set up, and Michael Jackson getting tied into the story.
Over time, this moment became a key part of their rivalry, and is often brought up when discussing their history. Type in Prince, Michael Jackson, James Brown. And after this show is when Prince thought Michael Jackson sabotaged him, because while Prince came on stage, he held on to this light pole, and then thought that light pole was a a sabotage, and he fell into the crowd and almost hurt himself.
So, Prince thought that was a a move from Mike. Also, he recalled a surprising conversation involving Michael Jackson and Prince sharing how Michael once reacted strongly to the idea of attending an event where Prince would also be performing. He explained that Michael had a very negative perception of Prince at the time claiming there was tension and past misunderstandings between them.
At the same time, will.i.am tried to reassure him that things were not as serious as they seemed and encouraged a more positive outlook. I was like, “Okay, so why don’t you come? I’ll be rocking with Prince like around 12:30.” He was like, “Oh, I can’t go to that.” I’m like, “Why?” He was like, “PRINCE IS A MEANIE.
” I’M LIKE, “WHAT?” I’M LIKE, SAY MEANIE? He’s a He’s a meanie. I’m like, “No, no, no, no, no. He’s He’s really nice, Mike.” He was like, “No, you don’t understand. ONE TIME I’M LIKE, “NO, HE’S REALLY NICE, MAN. I LIKE HE WAS LIKE, “NO, you don’t understand, Will.
One time he tried to run me and my mama over with a car.” Oh, damn. I’m like, “Wait, what?” He was like, “Yeah, I’m telling you. They always used to always put me against him.” I’m like, “Listen, it’s different now. Why don’t you just He He’ll be really happy to see you.” He was like, sure?” At the same time, he also shared another moment involving Quincy Jones reportedly confirming parts of the story adding more weight to what Michael had said.
understand? Mike came with me to see Prince perform. You did what? I’m like, “Yeah, he came to see me perform at Prince.” He was like, “Well, if you got Mike to come see you perform at Prince, that Well, then, man, I think you’re moving something. One time Prince tried to run that over with a car. I’m like, “Are you serious?” That’s what Mike said.
He was like, “He ain’t lying.” Teddy Riley also shared a wild backstage story that has resurfaced involving Michael Jackson, Prince, and James Brown during a live performance moment. It is said that Michael noticed Prince in the crowd and quietly pointed it out to James Brown, which shifted the energy of the event.
At the same time, things escalated on stage when Prince attempted to make an exit, but ended up caught in an unexpected situation with a prop he believed was real. In the end, the moment turned into a chaotic and unforgettable incident that added more fuel to the long-running stories surrounding their rivalry.
Michael said, “You know, after he did his thing, everybody went nuts.” Michael went and whispered in James Brown’s ear and said, “Prince is in the audience.” He said, “What?” “Prince is in the audience.” “Oh, I got somebody else in the audience. What?” “He’s in the new audience. What?” He said, “Prince, Prince, Prince is in the audience.” And Prince came up.
So, he said, “Ah, just forget about it. I’m done. Done. I’m going to get that Michael.” “I’m going to get his Hey, check this out. He went to go get off the stage, so he didn’t know that the light post was a prop. And so, he pulled the light post. The post came down with him. And the bodyguard, you know, kind of saved him, took him away.
[snorts] And Michael’s in the back just laughing. Okay. See, you see, you see what happened? MJ also mocked Prince’s bungled appearance at a 1983 James Brown tribute show in Los Angeles. The Purple Rain star mistook a papier-mâché stage lamp post for a real one and fell into the crowd, to which Jackson’s comment was, “He made a fool of himself.
He was a joke.” Meanwhile, in an old interview, Prince spoke on the long-running talk about tension with Michael Jackson, making it clear that he never saw it as a rivalry. He also reacted to claims about his involvement in a Michael Jackson music video, addressing the rumors directly. In the end, Prince brought the focus back to himself as a musician, saying his main drive has always been creating and performing music, not the public narratives around him.
There was never like any rivalry between you and Mr. Jackson. Um not to me, no. Okay. So, I love the story of you, you know, there’s all these Prince I’m sorry. That was That’s the guy you used to be. There’s the story of you turning down Bad. Well, you know, that Wesley Snipes character that that would have been me.
So, weird. Now, you were made out to be this weird cat. And he was like Mr. Disney and He a married chilling. He’s just mad. He like a married man. Well, you know, slave. You know, there again, you know, hopefully the press will get to the point where we’re just all just it’ll be a law where you have to tell the truth.
It won’t be about speculation. Um Um I You know, I’m a musician. I I live for that. I live for playing and and and creating songs. Then, Wesley Snipes reflected on how he ended up being part of Michael Jackson’s iconic Bad short film. Addressing long-standing stories about how the role came about, he spoke on rumors that different major names were considered during casting, including talk of Prince being linked to the project at some point.
At the same time, he shared his own version of events from that period, describing how things unfolded from his perspective as a young actor. One of your first big breaks was you were in the you were cast in the Bad video, Michael Jackson’s Bad video. yes. And I have heard that you got a role as a young actor unknown that was possibly they were considering Prince for in that that Michael Jackson was considering Prince for in that role.
I don’t know if that’s any if that’s true if that’s just a rumor. Have you ever heard that? Prince were auditioning together and I I I blew Prince out of the water. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. For that role in “Bad”. Prince Prince actually Michael had told Prince that he had the role and and then he met me. Is that true? This is a true story.
Meanwhile, Tavis Smiley shared a behind-the-scenes story about Quincy Jones trying to bring them together for a music collaboration. He explained how both artists kept calling Quincy separately, each asking if the other had arrived, but neither wanted to be the first to show up. At the same time, their pride turned a simple meeting into a standoff before they finally came face-to-face.
In the end, things got even more intense when Prince learned a specific lyric was linked to Michael, leading him to walk out instantly, showing how deep their tension really was. Uh and so Quincy invited Michael and Prince to his house one night to get together to talk about doing this song together.
Uh and uh the phone rings and it’s Michael on the phone and Michael says to Q, uh uh Quincy is is Prince there yet? And uh uh Q says uh no Michael’s not here yet. Okay, Michael hangs up. Phone rings 3 minutes later. It’s Prince. Uh Prince says uh Q, it’s it’s Prince. Is Michael there yet? And uh he says no, Michael ain’t here yet. Prince hangs up.
I’m not making this up. This happens for minutes. It goes on for minutes. Michael’s calling seeing if Prince is there first. Prince is calling seeing if Michael is there first. Nobody wants to sit and wait on the other and both of them are in their limousines driving past each other in the neighborhood, but nobody wants to be the first one waiting on the other.
And finally Michael’s uh uh Q says to Michael, Michael, stop this, man. Come to the house. Let’s get this conversation started. So Michael pulls up and then 2 seconds later here comes Prince. Prince points to the lyric sheet and says, whose line right here is this? Who whose line is this? And the line he points to is the line in the Michael track that says, your butt’s mine.
Prince wants to know whose line is this in the song. And Q and Michael look at each other and Q says, uh that’s Michael’s line. And Prince said, okay, thank you very much. The walked out the house and that was it. Then, in an interview, Morris Day talks about the comparison between Michael Jackson and Prince, two music legends who changed their generation in very different ways.
Both became global stars, but people often compared their styles and careers. One was known for his powerful stage shows and strong entertainment skills, while the other was known for making and controlling almost everything in his music. Over time, the idea of comparisons turned into rivalry. Prince and Michael Jackson were kind of neck and neck.
Absolutely. Because you know, Michael had Thriller. Yeah. Prince had Purple Rain. And he had the movie on top of that. So, he was a movie star and Purple Rain, the sales were up there with Thriller. And I guess the two of them had like a a rivalry. They did. I remember Prince told me that he went and met with Michael at some point and I guess they talked about some stuff.
Um you know, I I always thought that was an interesting comparison. I think that they were on the same level as artists, but I think Michael was he was straight entertainer. Well, Prince did it all. You know, Prince was the entertainer, the writer, the producer, everything. So, to me, I just thought that made his worth and not to try and take anything from Michael, don’t get me wrong.
One of the greatest that ever walked the planet, but I just thought that Prince as a a rounded I mean, was the whole package. He didn’t need anybody to get him from A to B to Z. He you know, he could do it all himself. Yeah, Michael needed Quincy Jones. There you go. That’s all I’m getting at. And Michael needed R Kelly later.
Yeah. He needed He needed producers. He needed songwriters. Yeah. Uh yeah, but Prince played like a hundred different instruments. Yeah. Yeah. Did you ever see the two of them actually get into it? Cuz there was like this one video where they were like like remember Hulk Hogan was there? Make sure to like the video, subscribe for more stories like this, and turn on notifications so you do not miss the next one.
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