Spike Lee forced to negotiate with a drug lord just so he could film Michael Jackson music video
Topics: Michael Jackson, Music, Celebrity
Gerrard Kaonga
Featured Image Credit: John Lamparski/Getty Images / Phil Dent/Redferns
Topics: Michael Jackson, Music, Celebrity
Michael Jackson was known for his iconic music videos but one from 1996 has quite the story behind it.
For much of his career, the 'King of Pop' was on top of the world.
The singer has a number of unforgettable music videos including, 'Remember the Time', 'Bad', 'Smooth Criminal', 'Billie Jean', 'Stranger in Moscow' - there is basically a song for every mood and occasion.
But Jackson’s 1996 video for ‘They Don’t Really Care About Us’, which was shot in Brazil, still stands out as one of his finest pieces of work.
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Directed by Spike Lee, filming in a favela in Rio De Janeiro wasn’t as clean cut as you might imagine for a global superstar.
It was also met with some pushback from officials in the city who feared it would effect tourism and accused Jackson of exploiting the poor.
In 2018, speaking to O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper, Lee opened up on how they went about the situation.
“To guarantee Michael’s security, we had to speak with the drug kingpin Marcinho VP because the Brazilian police refused to climb the hills of the slum,” he said.
Lee also claimed that he and his team 'didn’t pay a dime' to shoot the video and instead just asked permission and were granted safe passage.
Brazilian-born Brown University graduate Katia Lund, who was working for Lee, is believed to have met with the drug lord in person to negotiate protection.
“The guy was a big Michael Jackson fan,” Lee claimed.
He added: “I didn’t get to know Marcinho. He sent me a message that if we decided to make the video with Michael (in the Santa Marta favela), we could lay $1 million on the street, and our film equipment, and no one would touch it.”
Lee claimed that he was assured by Marcinho that with 'Michael Jackson here, this will be the safest place in the world'.
This story has recently gone viral on Reddit after being posted by a user on the 'TodayIlearned' board.
One fan wrote: "MJ and Prince were so amazing and popular they could basically do whatever they wanted to. It was a good time for music."
Another added: "Such a cool story!"
While a third joked: "I guess you could say that druglord was a... smooth criminal."
On why he picked Lee, Jackson said: “'They Don't Care About Us' has an edge, and Spike Lee had approached me.
"It's a public awareness song and that's what he is all about. It's a protest kind of song ... and I think he was perfect for it."