There is something deeply ironic about watching the most visionary music videos in pop history being fed through a cheap digital meat grinder. Yet here we are. In 2025, the Michael Jackson Estate has decided that the best way to preserve the King of Pop’s timeless artistry is by running his short films through an AI system that produces results closer to melted wax and ghost imagery than an actual restoration. They call it “4K.” We call it “AI cosplay.”
Over the last few months, the Estate has been on a mission to dump upgraded short films onto YouTube. These “upscales” promise higher quality but deliver an array of visual horrors: faces smoothed beyond recognition, ghostly duplicates, smudged textures, artificial blur so thick it could pass for Vaseline on a camera lens, and details so distorted they look like bootleg 3D from the early 2000s. The intention may be admirable. The execution is embarrassing.
But things get worse. While fans were focused on these so-called 4K releases, the Estate quietly began tampering with other videos, attempting to upscale them to 1080p. The results are shockingly poor. “BAD,” for instance, looks virtually unchanged from its decades-old version. No improvement, no clarity, no depth. It’s simply the same old video with a new upload date. And if that wasn’t enough to make fans wince, then “They Don’t Care About Us” certainly will.
The 1080p upgrade of this crucial, politically charged short film is a disaster. Michael’s face is smoothed to the point of distortion, his chest disappears entirely in several moments, the drummers mysteriously grow extra drumsticks thanks to ghosting artifacts, and even the iconic Olodum shirts, so culturally and historically important, lose their branding. A video that stands as a powerful statement of protest has been visually downgraded into something that borders on disrespectful. For a piece of work that carries social and political weight, this is unacceptable.
What makes this even harder to swallow is the idea that all of this is being rushed to prepare for the upcoming biopic. Instead of doing things properly, slowly, carefully, with the precision and integrity Michael Jackson insisted upon when he was alive, the Estate appears determined to shove out as many upgrades as possible, even if they look like they were produced by a single editor working on an outdated laptop, using the cheapest AI tool available. The urgency is clear; the quality is not. And any fan who has ever watched Michael obsess over lighting, camera angles, edits, colors, choreography and sound knows very well that he would never approve such sloppy work.
And no, the argument that “at least we’re getting something” is not acceptable anymore. Getting something is not a treat when it distorts an artist’s legacy. It is not a gift when it compromises the work. If the alternative is watching Michael’s short films being mangled by technology he would have fought against, then yes, we would rather get nothing. Leave them alone until they can be treated properly.
What adds insult to injury is the fact that the Estate has proudly bragged about generating over $3.5 billion since 2009. And yet, somehow, they can’t afford proper 4K restoration? Real 4K restoration from original film elements, the industry standard for historic, valuable video content, costs money. It takes time. It requires experts. It preserves the art. And that, apparently, is not an investment the Estate is willing to make unless there is immediate profit to be gained. Since YouTube videos don’t bring in substantial revenue, they appear to believe it’s not worth protecting Michael’s visual legacy with the same care Michael himself insisted on.
That logic is not just short-sighted, it is foolish. The purpose of preservation is not to make a quick dollar. It is to safeguard an artist’s legacy for generations. Michael Jackson didn’t just make music videos; he created cinematic landmarks that changed the industry forever. These works were built with vision, precision, artistry and respect. They were crafted by directors, choreographers, cinematographers, designers, costumers, makeup artists, musicians, dancers and technicians who poured talent and sweat into every frame. To reduce their work to a blurry AI render is not just careless, it’s disrespectful to every person who helped make these films what they are.
So here is the message, plain and simple: if the Estate cannot deliver proper, professional, fully funded restorations from original elements, then they should stop touching Michael Jackson’s short films altogether. What is being released now is not preservation. It is deterioration disguised as enhancement. It’s a disgrace. It’s an insult. And worst of all, it damages the very legacy the Estate is supposed to protect.
If you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all.
Sebastian for MJVibe
Agreed.
I will never part with my MJ original DVD music collection.
Well what can we do about this disgraceful act ?
How can we protest? Write letters to the estate ? Not watch them ofcourse ! Are any of the old ones still available to view??
Yes , it’s not acceptable, so let’s do something about it!
I shall
Where do we meet for protest or war?. MJ want called the King of pop because he was just some average dude who got a lucky break. He is a legend and was born to rule the music industry and he did just that while he lived. I am so outraged by these greedy money hungry self absorbed estate morons for their blatant disregard to preserve history in the quality MJ would approve. Not roll over in his grave for
Wish they had simply re-released the originals they’ve had in a 4K profile for increased bitrate on YouTube; that was the real killer of the previous uploads. Your last two paragraphs say it so well, and it’s especially distasteful that they keep releasing these, despite likely seeing the majority criticizing their “restoration” results compared to the original.
My hope is that this was a short-term effort for the biopic until they can take the time to properly remaster them, but I’m not holding my breath.