Advertisement

Macaulay Culkin opens up about ‘normal friendship’ with Michael Jackson

Click to play video: 'Macaulay Culkin says friendship with Michael Jackson was normal'
Macaulay Culkin says friendship with Michael Jackson was normal
WATCH: Macaulay Culkin said friendship between himself and Michael Jackson was mundane and normal – Jan 16, 2019

WARNING: This story contains graphic language.

Macaulay Culkin opened up about his friendship with the late Michael Jackson while joining Michael Rosenbaum’s podcast on Jan. 15.

Culkin said that their friendship “made sense” despite there being a 22-year age gap between the pair.

The Home Alone star joked that Rosenbaum “ambushed” him with questions about Jackson before the episode of “Inside of You With Michael Rosenbaum” finished taping.

READ MORE: Michael Jackson estate calls Sundance exposé documentary ‘outrageous’ and ‘lurid’

Culkin explained how Jackson took him under his wing when he was a child star. He said that the Billie Jean singer reached out to him in the early 1990s because he could relate to Culkin because they were both child stars.

Story continues below advertisement

“He reached out to me because a lot of things were happening big and fast with me. And I think… yes, I think he identified with that,” Culkin shared.

“I mean, at the end of the day, it’s almost easy to try to say it was like weird or whatever, but it wasn’t, because it made sense,” Culkin said. “At the end of the day, we were friends.”

“Like, we’re friendly, but people wouldn’t question that,” Culkin, 38, told the 46-year-old host. “You don’t have to explain that to people… Seriously, how many friendships have you had to explain?”

“It’s one of my friendships that people question, only because of the fact that he was the most famous person in the world,” Culkin said to Rosenbaum during the podcast.

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

READ MORE: Joe Jackson dead: Jackson Family patriarch dies at 89

When Rosenbaum mentioned the age gap, Culkin said that Jackson, a former child star as well, understood him in a way that most others couldn’t.

“I was a peerless person. Nobody else in my Catholic school even had this much idea of what I was going through, and he was the kind of person who’d been through the exact same frickin’ thing and wanted to make sure I wasn’t alone.”

Story continues below advertisement
Michael Jackson and Macaulay Culkin at Madison Square Garden in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage).

Culkin described Jackson as “sweet,” “generous,” “gentle,” “funny,” and “hilarious.”

“People don’t know how funny he f**king was!” Culkin said.

READ MORE: Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino starts 8-month prison sentence

He also revealed that Jackson appreciated the fact that Culkin was not impressed with his level of fame and treated the pop superstar like a normal person.

“I really didn’t actually give a s**t about famous people. I was thoroughly unimpressed by them. So, when I first met him, I was just like, ‘OK, cool. You’re just that guy. Oh, that guy who sings songs? Cool. I sing songs in school. Great,'” he said. “I think that’s one of the reasons why we got along; everyone was always thoroughly impressed by him. So the fact that [I was] somebody who was kind of just treating him like a normal person… Yeah. It was that simple.”
Story continues below advertisement

“For me, it’s so normal and mundane,” Culkin said. “I know it’s a big deal to everybody else, but it was a normal friendship.”

Culkin is the godfather of Jackson’s children, Paris Jackson, Michael (Prince) Jackson and Prince (Blanket) Jackson II.

“I’m going to warn you now, I am very protective of her [Paris Jackson] so just look out,” the actor said when Mac Maron asked about the subject on his WTF podcast in January 2018. “I am a very open book when it comes to things but like with her, she is beloved by me.”
Advertisement

Sponsored content

AdChoices