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Lionel Richie Lifts the Veil on Michael Jackson's Quirky Habits in New Memoir
30 Sep
Summary
- Lionel Richie's new memoir "Truly" shares never-before-told stories about his close friend Michael Jackson
- Richie describes Jackson's "eccentric" daily life, including his poor hygiene and habit of wearing the same unwashed clothes for days
- Richie once had to lend Jackson clean clothes and encourage him to shower after the singer visited in an unkempt state
In his new memoir "Truly," released on September 30, 2025, Grammy winner and American Idol judge Lionel Richie shares fascinating never-before-told stories about his close friendship with the late Michael Jackson. Richie describes how he and the King of Pop were deeply bonded over music, but differed greatly when it came to their daily lives.
Richie reveals that Jackson's poor hygiene was, paradoxically, due in part to his extreme level of fame. The singer often lived on the road and couldn't simply pop into department stores to purchase basic necessities. "Everybody kept something for a souvenir," Richie writes, explaining that Jackson "just got into the habit of wearing the same pants until they were unwearable."
When Jackson would visit Richie, the singer would arrive in "jeans and a t-shirt" that were "either falling off him or too short to even be jeans and, well, smelly." Richie even recounts one occasion where he had to lend Jackson a pair of clean jeans and underwear and encourage him to take a shower after the singer showed up particularly unkempt.
Despite Jackson's quirks, Richie cherished their friendship. He describes the King of Pop as a "musical savant" who "could compare 15 different mixes of the same song and could tell them apart," but in his "daily coming and going, that kid was winging it every minute."
