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Don’t play with Michael Jackson fans—or his family. Rolling Stone sent The King of Pop’s nephew Taj Jackson fuming after calling Harry Styles the ‘new King of Pop’ on the cover of their UK magazine. Fans were also upset, defending the singer to the publication in comments.
Like many MJ fans, 49-year-old Taj Jackson vented on social media after the magazine made the audacious comparison between the icon and the 28-year-old “Watermelon Sugar” singer.
The son of Michael’s brother, Tito Jackson, slammed Rolling Stone in a Tweet, writing:
‘There is no new King of Pop. You don’t own the title @RollingStone, and you didn’t earn it, my uncle did. Decades of dedication and sacrifice. The title has been retired.’
In the same tweet, Taj clarified that he didn’t take any personal issue with ‘mega talented’ Harry Styles, just the magazine for the seemingly disrespectful magazine cover copy.
‘No disrespect to @Harry_Styles, he’s mega talented. Give him his own unique title.’
The Rolling Stone cover also sparked sleuths of posts from MJ fans who compared the two singers’ abilities.
One fan shared a video of Harry singing at 16 years old, comparing it side-by-side with a video of Jackson at 6, when the singer was considered a prodigy for his vocal ability.
Fan pages also pointed out that Michael Jackson “broke racial barriers” with his music and set many standards for artists across genres who came after him with hundred of people sharing the message in agreement.
He broke racial barriers, revolutionized and set the standard for music industry through his groundbreaking creativity and pioneering. A true Legend!
After Rolling Stone caused an eruption with their Harry Styles cover, Michel Jackson fans quickly pointed out that the singer’s estate literally owns the title.
According to legal documents, The Estate Of Michael Jackson trademarked the phrase ‘King Of Pop,’ which was used broadly when people spoke about Michael while he was living and since his death in 2009.
Of course, even more tweets from MJ fans poured in with jokes about Rolling Stone having the gall to compare the 13-Grammy award winning pop icon to Harry Styles. Scroll down to see more reactions!
