- Know what I also love? Mannequins. I guess I want to bring them to life. I like to imagine talking to them. You know what I think it is?
Yeah, I think I'll say it.

I think I'm accompanying myself with friends I never had. I probably have two friends. And I just got them. Being an entertainer, you just can't tell who is your friend. And they see you so differently. A estrela instead of a next-door neighbor. That's what it is. I surround myself with people I want to be my friends. And I can do that with mannequins. I'll talk to them.

I sit there and say, 'Please don't call me up, I am too shy.' But once I get up there, I take control of myself. Being onstage is magic. There's nothing like it. You feel the energy of everybody who's out there. You feel it all over your body. When the lights hit you, it's all over, I swear it is.

Snakes are very misunderstood. Snakes, I suggest, may be the oldest victims of bad press.
I wake up from dreams and go, 'Wow, put this down on paper.' The whole thing is strange. You hear the words, everything is right there in front of your face. And you say to yourself, 'I'm sorry, I just didn't write this. It's there already.' That's why I hate to take credit for the songs I've written. I feel that somewhere, someplace, it's been done and I'm just a courier bringing it into the world. I really believe that. I amor what I do. I'm happy at what I do. It's escapism.

"Michael Jackson - Life in the magical kingdom" - Rolling Stone (February 17, 1983)


- Like the old Indian proverb says, do not judge a man until you've walked 2 moons in his moccosins.

- Most people don't know me, that is why they write such things in wich most is not true. I cry very very often because it hurts and I worry about the children, all my children all over the world, I live for them.
If a man could say nothing against a character but what he could prove, history could not be written.
animais strike not from malice but because they want to live, it is the same with those who criticize, they desire our blood not our pain. But still I must achieve I must seek truth in all things. I must endure for the power I was sent forth, for the world for the children.
But have mercy, for I've been bleeding a long time now. MJ.

Handwritten note published in People (12 October 1987)


- Consciousness expresses itself through creation. This world we live in is the dance of the Creator. Dancers come and go in the twinkling of an eye but the dance lives on. On many an occasion when I am dancing, I have felt touched por something sacred. In those moments, I felt my spirit soar and become one with everything that exists. I become the stars and the moon. I become the lover and the beloved. I become the victor and the vanquished. I become the master and the slave. I become the singer and the song. I become the knower and the known. I keep on dancing and then, it is the eternal dance of creation. The Creator and the creation merge into one wholeness of joy. I keep on dancing — until there is only ... the dance.

"The Dance" - from inlay sleeve of Dangerous (1991)
- I have no problem with them imitating [me]. It's a compliment. Everybody has to start out looking up to someone. For me it was James Brown, Sammy Davis Jr., Jackie Wilson, fred figglehorn Astaire, Gene Kelly.

On pop groups like N'Sync; (1 November 2001) TV Guide interview. TV Guide. (accessed 2009-07-09)

- If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.

Dancing the Dream (1992), also used in his funeral invitation. Quoted in "Dead stars and classic art will surround Michael Jackson " in CNN.com/entertainment (03 July 2009)

- I have begun to see that even my father's harshness was a kind of love. An imperfect love, to be sure, but amor nonetheless. He pushed me because he loved me, because he wanted no man to ever look down at his offspring. Now with time, rather than bitterness I feel blessing.… My initial fury has slowly given way to forgiveness.

"Heal the Kids" speech at the oxford Union (2001)


- I put a lot of mannequins in my room in the past, and I still have mannequins in my room, because I used to be very lonely, painfully lonely. You have no idea. I used to walk the streets looking for people to talk to. I'm talking about the height of one's career…. I would walk up to them, strangers, and say, "will you be my friend?" They'd go, "my god, Michael Jackson!" and that's not what I wanted.

The Michael Jackson Interview: The Footage You Were Never Meant to See (2002)


- The record companies really do conspire against the artists. They steal. They cheat. They do whatever they can, especially the black artists.… Sony's Tommy Mottola is the president of the record division. He is mean. He is a racist, and he's very, very, very devilish.

Remarks at National Action Network headquarters (6 July 2002)

- The minuto I started breaking the all-time record in record sales—I broke Elvis's records, I broke Beatles records—the minuto it became the all-time best-selling album in the history of the guinness Book of World Records, overnight they called me a freak. They called me a homosexual. They called me a child molester. They said I bleached my skin. They made everything to turn the public against me.

Remarks at National Action Network headquarters (9 July 2002)


- I know my race. I just look in the mirror. I know I'm black.

Remarks at National Action Network headquarters (9 July 2002)

- I am speechless about the idea of putting música fãs in jail for downloading music. It is wrong to illegally download, but the answer cannot be jail. Here in America we create new opportunities out of adversity, not punitive laws, and we should look to new technologies like Apple's new música Store for solutions. This way, innovation continues to be the hallmark of America. It is the fãs that drive the success of the música business.

Press statement (21 July 2003), quoted in "Jackson attacks música piracy bill" in BBC News (22 July 2003)

- Lies run sprints but the truth runs marathons.

Press statement (November 2003); quoted in "Michael Jackson Calls Child Molestation Charges 'Lies'" (8 December 2003) Jet


- In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe.

Also used at his funeral (3 Sep. 2009) invitation. Quoted in "Dead stars and classic art will surround Michael Jackson " in CNN.com/entertainment (03 July 2009)