Why did Michael Jackson's nephew, Taj Jackson criticize Rolling Stone UK for its most current Harry Styles cover story?
by Ana Walia | Wed, 24 Aug 2022 12:19:23 GMT
Harry Styles appeared on the Rolling Stone UK's October/November issue. Image Source: The Pipa News

Michael Jackson's family is not happy.

Harry Styles recently appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone UK for the October/November issue and was dubbed as the new ‘King of Pop’ by the original King of Pop, the late Michael Jackson’s nephew, who was not happy about it.

According to reports by Pop Crave, Michael Jackson’s nephew Taj Jackson was not happy with the Rolling Stone calling Harry Styles the new King of Pop and commented on a post where he said that there was no new King of Pop. The comment continued as Taj wrote that Rolling Stone does not own the title, they did not earn it, but his uncle, the legendary Michael Jackson, did with his decades of dedication and sacrifice. The title 'King of Pop' was trademarked and is owned by Michael Jackson estate. 

Taj clarified that there is no disrespect towards Harry Styles for this and said that the singer is mega talented and the Rolling Stones should give him his unique title because the title "King of Pop" retired with Michael Jackson’s passing away. The audience also agreed with the comments from Taj and said that there is only one King of Pop and added that no offense to Harry Styles, he is probably not in the same league as Michael Jackson. Another user wrote that it’s true, that there is only one King of Pop and there won’t ever be another one, and the same goes with Elvis.

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Another commenter questioned how Rolling Stone (UK) could rank Harry Styles and Michael Jackson on the same level. Given that Michael Jackson is the most renowned person to have had the title, someone wrote that dubbing Harry Styles the next King of Pop is a pretty daring decision and questioned how they could place the two of them on the same level while maintaining a straight face. It should be pointed out here that most of the comments that stem from the title being used for Harry Styles mentioned that they have respect and admiration for Harry Styles, and this has nothing to do with him but the fact that the publisher decided to put him on the same level as a legendary star and give him the title of MJ. One of the users recalled that Rolling Stone tried to label Justin Timberlake with the same title in 2003 after the singer decided to fly solo from NSYNC and released his debut album, "Justified."

One user wrote that the title belongs to a black man who has worked his ass off since he was five years old, who was a veteran by the age of fifteen, broke down racial barriers, revolutionized the music business, and started the hashtag #KingofPopMichaelJackson trending on Twitter. Users have called the label racist and disrespectful. Two decades later, the publication denounced Justin Timberlake as "The King of Cringe" after his album, "Man of the Wood," released in 2018, received a lukewarm response and was followed by his awkward dance at something in the Water Festival in June.

Taj Jackson replied to the comments and said that is why the title of King of Pop meant so much to him because his uncle, Michael Jackson, worked his butt off for it and it means a lot to him too. Michael Jackson was crowned with the title of King of Pop due to his long and eclectic pop music career. The iconic singer passed away in 2009 from cardiac arrest caused by a lethal combination of prescribed drugs given by his physician.

Harry Styles has not addressed the comments from Taj Jackson or the users about him being dubbed as the new King of Pop since he rarely uses social media. He recently shared during the interview that he does not really like to read the comments on Twitter and added that it is a place filled with shit storm of people being awful to each other.

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