30 Years Ago, One Rock Legend Attacked Michael Jackson
Today, the legacy of Michael Jackson is deeply mixed. While a forthcoming biopic, Michael aims to celebrate the iconic singer's rise to fame, there's still plenty of questions about Jackson's alleged crimes. And depending on your take, even playing Jackson songs is either no big deal, or, deeply offensive. But, controversies about Michael Jackson are hardly new. In 1996, just three years after the first major Jackson scandal, the singer was attacked on stage by an unlikely assailant.
Thirty years go, on February 19, 1996, the lead singer of the iconic band Pulp, Jarvis Cocker, invaded the stage at the Brit Awards while Michael Jackson performed is then new-hit, "Earth Song." Here's what happened and why it's still so interesting today.
Did Jarvis Cocker Assault Michael Jackson in 1996?
The short answer to this question is no. But, as Michael Jackson took the stage at the 1996 Brit Awards, Cocker, who was not performing with Jackson, to be clear, went on stage and mooned Jackson. His basic protest was that he was disgusted with Jackson presenting himself as a God-like figure, while a chorus of children singers repeated the chorus of "Earth Song."
This was Cocker's attack on Jackson, and later, Cocker was accused of assaulting children on stage, an accusation which we was later cleared of. "I just ran on the stage and showed off," Cocker said at the time. "I didn't make any physical contact with anyone as far as I recall. I certainly didn't push anyone offstage. I find it very insulting to be accused of assaulting children. All I was trying to do was make a point and do something that lots of other people would have loved to have done if only they'd dared."
At the time, most rock stars tended to side with Cocker, partly because Jackson's performance at the Brits was so self-aggrandizing. As Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher put it at the time: "People thought it was so shocking. It’s not as if he cracked [Jackson] on the head with a baseball bat - which is what I woulda done if I’d gone up there."
Michael movie release date
The biopic Michael, starring Jaafar Jackson, Michael Jackson's nephew, will hit theaters on April 24, 2026. It is unlikely that the 1996 moment at the Brit Awards will be part of the film.