The Estate of Prince surprised fans yesterday by resharing an Instagram Story titled “Michael Jackson: the world owes him an apology.”
The original message came from Māori musician Franko Heke, but seeing it amplified by the Prince Estate carried a much deeper meaning for many fans of Michael Jackson.
At a time when very few celebrities or even celebrity estates, openly speak up in support of Michael Jackson, the repost felt significant. For decades, the media focused heavily on the supposed rivalry between Michael Jackson and Prince, often portraying the two icons as competitors rather than fellow musical geniuses who reshaped pop culture in their own ways.
That is why the Prince Estate sharing this message resonated so strongly within the MJ community.
Franko Heke’s original post read:
“We turned a human into a headline. 🪧🕺🏾🛑
We took one of the most sensitive, gifted souls to ever walk this planet… and judged him through fear, projection, and noise.
@michaeljackson 🪽
Acquitted in court… but never in the minds of the world.
That says more about us than it ever did about him.
This isn’t about blind defence. It’s about taking a moment to question how quickly we tear people down without ever truly understanding them.
A man who gave his entire life to music, to humanity, to bringing people together…and we didn’t know how to hold him.
Michael… we’re sorry.”
The message quickly caught attention among fans online, many praising the Prince Estate for publicly acknowledging the unfair treatment Michael Jackson endured throughout his life and beyond.
For longtime fans, the gesture was more than just a repost, it was a rare moment of recognition, empathy, and respect between the legacies of two of music’s greatest and most influential artists.
