Elton John once described Michael Jackson as a 'disturbing person to be around'.
In his 2019 confessional memoir, Me, the 77-year-old British pop icon recalled his various interactions with the 'King of Pop', who passed away in 2009 at just 50 years old.
The 'Candle in the Wind' singer also described Jackson as 'mentally ill' and 'a disturbing person to be around'.
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The singer explained that he wasn’t always like that, however.
In fact, when he’d first encountered the 'Thriller' hit-maker when he was a child, he was just a sweet kid.
"I'd known Michael since he was 13 or 14," Elton wrote.
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"He was just the most adorable kid you could imagine. "But at some point in the intervening years, he started sequestering himself away from the world and away from reality, the way Elvis Presley did."
The singer went on to say that he believed it could have been caused by his reliance on prescription drugs.
"God knows what was going on in his head, and God knows what prescription drugs he was being pumped full of, but every time I saw him in his later years I came away thinking that the poor guy had totally lost his marbles," he continued to say.
"I don't mean that in the lighthearted way. He was genuinely mentally ill, a disturbing person to be around."
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Elton's revelation about Jackson's alleged mental state came after the release of high profile docu-series Leaving Neverland the same year, which investigated the sex abuse allegations made against the singer and followed him until his death.
While Elton didn't comment on the allegations, he did briefly mention that Jackson appeared to prefer the company of children to adults.
He wrote: "For whatever reason, he couldn't seem to cope with adult company at all."
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But Jackson wasn't the only famous person that Elton opened up about in the memoir.
Oddly, he also wrote about the late Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away last year (8 September) at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
"I know the Queen's public image isn’t exactly one of wild frivolity, but... in private she could be hilarious," he wrote.
The singer also spoke about his famous friendship with Princess Diana, calling her the 'People's Princess' to him and that she had been 'blessed with an incredible social ease, an ability to make people feel totally comfortable in her company'.
Topics: Michael Jackson, Music
Britt Jones