Something Ain’t Right

I have been following Michael Jackson auctions since 2009, when Michael teamed up with Julien’s Auctions for what was supposed to be a major auction of items from Neverland Ranch.

As the story goes, Julien’s Auctions approached Michael with the idea of cataloguing and photographing the items at Neverland. Michael loved the idea of having a complete catalogue of his belongings, and even signed some copies. The logo created for that project would later become the Michael Jackson Estate’s logo. Funny how things turn out!

But it seems there was a misunderstanding. Michael believed that Julien’s would catalogue and photograph his belongings, while the auction house was preparing to sell the actual items. When Michael realised what was happening, he cancelled the auction and asked Michael Bush and Dennis Tompkins to collect everything back.

The auction never happened, but the catalogues did. To this day, they remain treasured items among collectors and fans, offering a fascinating glimpse into Michael’s personal collection.

Fast forward to 2012. Michael had passed away, Dennis Tompkins had passed away, and Michael Bush approached Julien’s Auctions with what was presented as an extraordinary opportunity: the chance to auction some of Michael Jackson’s most iconic costumes.

The story was that Michael had gifted these items to Bush, and many came with inscriptions attributed to Michael himself.

But this auction was about to leave a very sour taste in the mouths of many fans.

I was there. I saw it with my own eyes.

At the time, I was already working on Iconic Magazine, which regularly featured interviews with people who had worked with Michael Jackson. I contacted the organisers of the London exhibition and managed to secure access to the VIP opening, with one main objective: to interview Michael Bush. We did exactly that.

Through our relationship with Darren Julien, we were then asked whether we would help organise the changeover of the exhibition. The collection was travelling between London and Japan, with some costumes being replaced by others.

It was an incredible honour. We never imagined that one day we would be handling Michael Jackson’s actual costumes. And yes, I mean handling them ourselves.

We were there. We saw the garments up close. We witnessed the condition of the pieces and had conversations with the people involved. This wasn’t something we read about on the internet years later.

Around the same time, Michael Bush asked us to organise a book-signing event for his book, King of Style, which we happily did.

And this is where things started to go wrong.

During the book signing, a fan approached us and asked a question that would soon spread like wildfire throughout the Michael Jackson community:

“Have you noticed how similar Michael Bush and Michael Jackson’s handwriting are?”

That question opened a Pandora’s box.

We later learned that Michael Bush was one of the people who had signed items on Michael’s behalf. Suddenly, fans began questioning the inscriptions on the auction pieces. Were the signatures really Michael’s? Were some of them Bush’s? And, perhaps more importantly, if the inscriptions were being used to support the story behind these items, how could collectors know exactly what they were buying?

It also raised a much bigger question: did Michael really gift all these costumes to Michael Bush?

I am not saying that every signature was fake, nor am I claiming that every item was improperly sold. But the questions were there, and they never completely went away.

The auction went ahead. Costumes were sold, some to celebrities such as Lady Gaga and fashion figures such as Philip Treacy. Millions of dollars changed hands across the sale.

Yet, for many fans, something had changed. The trust was no longer the same.

And ever since, questions about Michael Bush’s intentions, his relationship with Michael Jackson and the circumstances surrounding that auction have continued to follow the story.

Four items the Estate wanted back

Now, here is a part of the story that I believe deserves much more attention.

Before the 2012 auction took place, four items were returned by Michael Bush to the Michael Jackson Estate.

Four pieces of Michael Jackson history:

• The Thriller Bad Tour light-up jacket. The unique illuminated jacket associated with Michael’s performances during the Bad Tour.
• The Smooth Criminal suit from Moonwalker and the Smooth Criminal short film. The famous white-and-blue outfit associated with one of Michael’s most iconic performances.
• The silver outfit from the Scream video. A piece from Michael and Janet Jackson’s groundbreaking collaboration.
• The red lion shirt Michael wore during his final This Is It rehearsals. A garment connected to the last rehearsals of Michael’s performing career.

These were not ordinary pieces of clothing. They were historically significant items belonging to one of the greatest entertainers who ever lived.

And the Estate wanted them back.

We should remember that John Branca was already involved in the wider story surrounding Michael Bush’s book, having contributed the foreword to King of Style. The relationship between Bush, Julien’s and the Estate was therefore not something that appeared out of nowhere in 2026.

It is precisely because of this history that the current situation deserves a much closer look.

And now, here we are in 2026

At Michael Jackson’s Birthday Bash in Las Vegas last August, Karen Langford announced that Michael Bush, who had participated in the celebrations for more than a decade, would be releasing a new book: King of Style II.

The book is being produced through Julien’s, with the Estate’s involvement in the wider project apparent from the promotional announcements and connections surrounding it.

Julien’s has also announced a new historical Michael Jackson auction in Abu Dhabi this December.

And, as part of the promotion, an exhibition has opened in Osaka, Japan, showcasing some of the items associated with the auction.

When I first posted pictures from the exhibition on MJVibe, I looked at them and had an immediate feeling that something was wrong.

I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

Then Japanese fans started visiting the exhibition and sharing more photographs online. I looked again, and suddenly I remembered something.

The Smooth Criminal suit.

I remembered that one of these suits had been returned to the Estate following the 2012 auction and had subsequently been displayed in the lobby of the MJ ONE theatre in Las Vegas.

Other fans noticed it too. One comment suggested that three suits had been created for the film.

Fine. I understand that film productions can have multiple costumes. Nobody is disputing that several versions might exist.

But let me ask a simple question: what are the chances that Michael Jackson gifted more than one of these suits to Michael Bush?

And if the suit in Osaka is not the one returned to the Estate, can somebody explain which suit it is, where it came from and how it ended up in this exhibition?

Because if it is a different suit, that should be easy enough to establish.

And if it is the same one, then we have an even bigger question to answer.

The Thriller jacket: I remember what Bush told us

The Smooth Criminal suit was not the only item that caught my attention.

I also spotted the illuminated Thriller jacket from the Bad Tour. And this is where my personal experience really matters.

I remember Michael Bush telling us that this was a unique, one-of-a-kind item. He explained the difficulties of keeping the lights working throughout the tour, show after show. The battery system made the jacket incredibly heavy, and the heat generated by the batteries was damaging the fabric.

I saw those burn marks myself when we handled the costumes during the exhibition changeover.

I am not relying on a photograph from somebody else’s social media account to tell me what that jacket looked like. I was there. I handled it. I remember the conversation.

And I remember being told that it was unique.

So imagine my reaction when I saw the same distinctive jacket appearing in photographs from the Osaka exhibition.

This was one of the four items that, according to the history of the 2012 auction, had been returned to the Estate.

What exactly is going on? Is this the same jacket? Is it being loaned by the Estate? Has its ownership changed? Or is there another explanation that fans have not been told? I want answers. Because if the Estate took possession of this jacket in 2012, its appearance in a new Julien’s exhibition is not something I can simply shrug off.

And if it turns out that everything is perfectly legitimate, then show us the documentation. Explain the provenance. Tell us the story behind the garment.

What I find unacceptable is the expectation that fans should simply accept everything they are told without asking questions.

Is Michael Bush the face of something bigger?

This is where things become even more uncomfortable.

Michael Bush is the public face of these costumes and the stories attached to them. He has written books, participated in fan events, appeared in promotional material and now has another book associated with a new auction.

But what if the story is bigger than Michael Bush himself?

What if the Estate is using Bush as the public face of a commercial operation involving Michael Jackson’s historical belongings?

What if items that fans believe should have remained in the Estate’s collection are now being presented through a process that allows them to be sold?

And what if Bush is simply the person standing at the front of it all, taking the attention while the people making the bigger decisions remain in the background?

These are questions, not proven conclusions. But given what happened in 2012, I believe we have every reason to ask them.

Let us not forget that John Branca was involved in the story around King of Style. Let us not forget that four significant items were returned to the Estate before the 2012 auction. And let us not forget the questions about the inscriptions and the circumstances surrounding the original sale.

Now we have a new book, a new auction, a new exhibition and at least two garments that immediately bring that history back into focus.

Coincidence? Perhaps.

But I am not convinced that fans should stop asking questions just because the people involved have spent years presenting themselves as guardians of Michael’s legacy.

Is the Estate selling Michael Jackson’s history?

There is another issue that has been bothering me for years: the Estate’s promises about preserving Michael’s legacy.

We have heard talk about turning Hayvenhurst into a museum. Where is it?

We have heard about the warehouses full of Michael’s personal and professional belongings, with items being preserved for the future. What exactly is being preserved, what is being made available, and who decides?

And then there is the question of John Branca himself.

I have seen recent comments attributed to people close to Branca suggesting that he is tired of the job, that he is done with Michael Jackson and that he may no longer be interested in continuing his involvement with the Estate.

I cannot independently confirm those claims. But if there is a change coming, fans should be asking what it could mean for Michael’s belongings and the future of his legacy.

Could the Estate be looking to monetise more of Michael’s physical collection before a change in leadership?

Could some of the most valuable items be sold while the current management remains in place?

I am not saying that this is definitely happening. I am asking whether it is a possibility that deserves scrutiny, particularly when we see historic costumes appearing in a new auction after the events of 2012.

And let us not forget the music catalogue. We have heard statements in the past about the Estate’s intentions regarding Michael’s music assets, yet major commercial deals have subsequently taken place.

Circumstances change, and business decisions change. But when the people responsible for managing an artist’s legacy make decisions that seem to contradict what fans thought they understood, they should expect questions.

Michael Jackson was not just a collection of valuable assets. He was an artist whose work changed music, dance, fashion and popular culture. His personal belongings are part of that history.

There is a difference between managing a legacy and gradually selling off the physical evidence of that legacy.

If the Estate is considering selling more of Michael’s personal belongings, then fans deserve to know what is being sold, why it is being sold and what safeguards exist to ensure that historically important items are not lost from public view forever.

Fans should be paying attention

Until the complete Julien’s auction catalogue is available and we can examine the individual lots, their provenance and their ownership history, it is difficult to know the full extent of what is happening.

But I believe fans should be watching this auction very closely.

We have the history of 2012. We have the four items returned to the Estate. We have my own recollections of handling the costumes and hearing Michael Bush describe the unique nature of the Thriller jacket. And now we have photographs from Osaka that raise questions about at least two of those pieces.

I do not believe these questions should be dismissed as fan paranoia.

I have spent years working on Michael Jackson projects, interviewing people who knew him and documenting his legacy. I have been fortunate enough to handle some of his most iconic costumes. I know what I remember, and I know why these photographs made me stop and look again.

Perhaps there are explanations for everything. But until those explanations are provided, I will continue to question what I am seeing.

And I want other fans to do the same.

Look at the photographs. Look at the auction catalogue when it is released. Compare the descriptions. Ask where the items came from, who owns them and what happened to the pieces that were returned to the Estate.

Do not simply assume that everything being done in Michael’s name is necessarily being done in Michael’s best interests.

Because if the Estate is now selling some of Michael Jackson’s most valuable historical belongings, we need to understand what that means for his legacy.

And if the current auction turns out to involve items that fans believed had already been returned to the Estate, then somebody needs to explain exactly how that happened.

After everything that happened in 2012, seeing these pieces again has brought back too many questions to ignore.

Maybe there is a simple explanation.

But right now, I cannot shake the feeling that something bigger is happening behind the scenes.

Something ain’t right.

Sebastian for MJVibe