Why does Ram Gopal Varma feel Michael Jackson 'backstabbed' him?
What's the story
Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma recently penned an emotional note on the late pop icon Michael Jackson. The director on Friday revealed that he was deeply influenced by Jackson's artistry since he first watched his iconic music video Thriller during his engineering college days in Vijayawada. The memory resurfaced after Varma watched the new musical biographical drama Michael, based on Jackson's life.
Emotional impact
'That horrible day...Michael Jackson is dead'
Varma shared an anecdote from June 25, 2009, when he woke up to the shocking news of Jackson's death. He wrote, "After watching MICHAEL...my memory went back to that horrible day June 25th, 2009 when I slept late with the television still murmuring like a ghost in the darkness of my room." "And as I groggily woke up in the morning and my eyes went to the screen to see those terrible white letters against black: 'Michael Jackson is Dead.'"
Lasting impression
Varma's 1st encounter with Jackson's magic
Varma reminisced about his first encounter with Jackson's artistry on January 2, 1984. A friend took him to a small video parlor in Vijayawada, where he watched Thriller for the first time. The director described the experience as an "invasion" that changed his understanding of performance, music, and visual storytelling. He marveled at the "production, the choreography, the seamless ecstasy blended into one single divine entity."
Lasting legacy
The controversies never bothered me: Varma
Despite the controversies surrounding Jackson, Varma's admiration for him remained undeterred. He wrote, "The scandals? The controversies? They never bothered me. They were background noise." "What he gave my senses and my soul far outweighed anything a human court or a tabloid magazine could ever throw at him." The director also expressed his anger at Jackson's death, saying it proved that even the pop icon was human.
Lasting love
'I hate Michael Jackson for dying'
Varma concluded his note by saying he continues to love Jackson beyond words. He wrote, "I hate Michael Jackson for dying. I hate him for proving that even he was human." "He backstabbed me. He betrayed my fantasy." "I hate that he, too, needed oxygen and blood like the rest of us... I hate that his heart could stop beating, too. I hate that I lived long enough to see those words on CNN: 'Michael Jackson's body sent to Mortuary.'"
Film details
Meanwhile, know more about 'Michael'
Michael, the film that inspired Varma's note, is a 2026 musical biographical drama directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by John Logan. It chronicles the early life of Jackson, from his days with the Jackson 5 in the 1960s to his Bad tour in the late 1980s. The film stars Jackson's nephew Jaafar Jackson in the lead role, with Nia Long, Laura Harrier, Jessica Sula, Mike Myers, and Colman Domingo among others. A second part will follow.