No, It's Not Meghan & Harry: This Oprah Interview Still Splits Public Opinion

These days, the words "bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview" are most regularly associated with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, but nearly three decades prior, she did another jaw-dropping sit-down with Michael Jackson. And, as with the Meghan and Harry interview, Oprah's conversation with Michael had many divided. 

Oprah's interview with the king of pop took place in 1993 and covered a range of provocative topics. They included Michael's tragic life as a child star, his difficult relationship with his father, Joe Jackson, and some of the bizarre rumors about him, like that he was trying to stay young by sleeping in an oxygen chamber. Of that particular rumor, Michael became visibly tense, pointing out that it was one of the pieces of equipment from the Michael Jackson Burn Center, which he'd set up for burn victims after he sustained horrific injuries while filming a Pepsi commercial (via MJ Film). Oprah also asked Michael about his skin, prompting him to reveal for the first time that he had vitiligo. The singer became emotional as he spoke about how much it hurt to see rumors that he was bleaching his skin because he didn't want to be Black. 

Given just how controversial many of the topics of conversation were, it's not surprising that many had strong feelings about the interview, and Entertainment Weekly even ran a poll on how audiences felt about it. Among the responses were that most people believed what Michael said about his father being abusive, but that those who fell into the 18 to 29-year-old age group didn't believe that vitiligo was the real reason for his lighter skin (via UPI). 30 years later, Redditors looked back on those findings, and it certainly seemed as though there had been some changes in heart.

Much has changed since Michael Jackson sat down with Oprah Winfrey in 1993, so it's no surprise that some Redditors were shocked by the responses to his vitiligo revelation. "It hurts me to see that so few people believed he had vitiligo (which we know he had following his autopsy," one wrote, adding that it was also amusing that so many readers were clutching their pearls over his crotch-grabbing dance moves. Another comment they had about the interview? That Oprah's questions were overly invasive. "I was most enraged by the fact that 88% thought Oprah did a good job with the interview. She made him awkward, asked disrespectful questions like if he was a virgin, and almost solely focused on the tabloid stories," they lamented. Another agreed in response, quipping, "Those questions are so nosy lol. And that interview seems to have done more damage than anything. He was right about not wanting to expose himself."

As for Oprah, she spoke to Oprah.com about the interview after Michael's death in 2009, and hinted at regretting one of her questions. She had asked what he wanted to be known for, and he'd asked, "Like, to be remembered for?" (via MJ Film). Oprah had clarified that she meant what he'd like people to know him for in that moment, prompting Michael to say he'd just like to be loved. "If I had known that we'd be sitting here talking about the memory of Michael Jackson, I would have let him finish what he wanted to be remembered for," she mused. 

Opinions of the interview may vary, but there's no question it gave the world a closer look at the real Michael — and for the record, Entertainment Weekly's poll showed that most respondents said they admired him after seeing it.