Quincy Jones: ‘Michael Obviously Didn’t Want To Be Black’

Hey, the word’s been out there for years: Michael Jackson hated being Black. If anyone could confirm Michael’s issues regarding the color of his skin, it’d be his legendary collaborator/producer Quincy Jones. And in an interview with Men Style magazine the other day, Jones recounted his discussions with MJ about the singer’s discomfort over his skin color in the 1980s, long believed by many to be the reason for his many plastic surgeries over the years. Jones also discusses why he won’t be attending Michael’s funeral:

On the Strange Evolution of Michael’s appearance
Oh, we talked about it all the time. But he’d come up with, “Man, I promise you I have this disease,” and so forth, and “I have a blister on my lungs,” and all that kind of b.s. It’s hard, because Michael’s a Virgo, man—he’s very set in his ways. You can’t talk him out of it. Chemical peels and all that stuff.

I don’t believe in any of that bullsh*t, No. Never. I’ve been around junkies and stuff all my life. I’ve heard every excuse. It’s like smokers—”I only smoke when I drink” and all that stuff. But it’s bullshit. You’re justifying something that’s destructive to your existence. It’s crazy. I mean, I came up with Ray Charles, man. You know, nobody gonna pull no wool over my eyes. He did heroin 20 years! Come on. And black coffee and gin for 40 years. But when he called me to come over to see him when he was in the hospital on his way out, man, he had emphysema, hepatitis C, cirrhosis of the liver, and five malignant tumors. Please, man! I’ve been around this all my life. So it’s hard for somebody to pull the wool over my eyes. But when somebody’s hell-bent on it, you can’t stop ‘em. It’s ridiculous, man! Chemical peels and all of it. And I don’t understand it. But he obviously didn’t want to be black… What do you think? You see his kids?

On Whether he Thinks Michael Had Some Deep Seated Issue On How He looked
Well, that comes about a certain way. I’m not sure how it happens. I’m just a musician and a record producer. I’m not a psychiatrist. I don’t understand all that stuff. We all got problems. But there’s a great book out called Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart. Did you see that? That book says the statute of limitations has expired on all childhood traumas. Get your stuff together and get on with your life, man. Stop whinin’ about what’s wrong, because everybody’s had a rough time, in one way or another.

On Whether He Will Attend Michael’s Funeral
No, not at all, not at all. Because it’s going to be, like, 9 million people there, and it’s not what I want to see. I can’t be there, anyway. I’m going to Wales the day after tomorrow, I go to Montreux, I go to Marbella, I go to the south of France. My condolences and love I’ve already sent to the family. But being there with 10 million people is not my idea of a tribute to somebody you were so close to—who’s got a part of your soul. Our souls were joined, you know. And a piece of it goes with him.