Pop icon Lionel Richie has opened up about his late friend Michael Jackson in his new memoir ‘Truly’, revealing the King of Pop’s eccentric habits and unusual hygiene routines.
Richie describes Jackson as “like an absent-minded professor but still a kid,” and says music producer Quincy Jones once teased him with the nickname “Smelly” because he sometimes went days without changing clothes.
In a memoir excerpt published by People, Richie recalls, “Michael would laugh too, realising that he was oblivious to the fact that he hadn’t changed or washed his clothes for a couple of days or so…We all have our quirks.” He adds that Jackson’s extreme fame made even everyday tasks difficult. Visiting a store risked being mobbed by fans, and clothes sent for cleaning often disappeared because people kept them as souvenirs.
“He just got into the habit of wearing the same pants until they were unwearable,” Richie writes. Jackson’s daily wardrobe was equally unusual. On tour, he wore elaborate costumes, in the studio he preferred pyjama bottoms and slippers, and at home he chose loose, comfortable clothes to practice dance moves and play with his collection of pets.
Richie shares a humorous memory of driving Jackson home. “Whenever Michael came to visit me, he was wearing whatever; even jeans and a t-shirt. The jeans were either falling off him or too short, and, well, smelly,” he writes. Richie continues, “As soon as I walked back into my house, I noticed on the carpet a pair of Michael Jackson’s underwear and his old, ratty jeans, just lying there like roadkill. What do I do but laugh? MJ was here.”
Richie, 73, has been busy touring. He recently completed a UK tour, his first since performing at the 2023 Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle. He also toured the US with Earth, Wind & Fire and had a Las Vegas residency in 2023.
Jackson fans have more to look forward to with the upcoming biopic Michael, directed by Antoine Fuqua and set to release next April. Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson will portray the pop legend, while Colman Domingo will play Michael’s father, Joe Jackson.
Richie’s memoir offers a glimpse of Jackson as both a global superstar and a lovable, quirky human. Even a King of Pop had everyday habits that made him uniquely Michael Jackson.
