Don’t shop til you get enough! Michael Jackson once closed an entire supermarket so he could walk the aisles like a normal person – after pop legend admitted he had never even ‘put items in a basket’ beforehand
Michael Jackson’s friend once shut down a whole Florida supermarket to allow the ‘King of Pop’ to experience what it was like to shop in a normal environment.
The ‘Thriller’ singer had never so much as put items in a basket beforehand, and was desperate to experience life ‘like everyone else.’
As well as the shopping mall being closed to the public, friends and family of the star dressed up as members of staff and other customers in an attempt to give Jackson the truest possible experience.
Filmed for the moment, he said: ‘It’s my dream to go into a supermarket and just shop. Just be like everybody else and put things in a basket, because I can’t do it.’
‘When I try to do it, people crowd around me – they want autographs and for me to sign things and to take pictures.’
Old times: Michael Jackson’s friend once shut down a whole Florida supermarket to allow the ‘King of Pop’ to experience what it was like to shop in a normal environment
First time for everything: The ‘Thriller’ singer had never so much as put items in a basket beforehand, and was desperate to experience life ‘like everyone else
Ain’t nothing like the real thing: As well as the shopping mall being closed to the public, friends and family of the star dressed up as members of staff and other customers in an attempt to give Jackson the truest possible experience
We see the star walking around a quiet supermarket with a trolley, as he encounters his costumed pals.
The spree was part of Fox’s 2003 show Michael Jackson’s Private Home Movies.
He added that he loves disguises for the same reason, allowing him to ‘sit on a bench at Disneyland and see what people really do and talk about – but when they see it’s Michael Jackson they change, and I don’t see the real thing.
‘I want to see the real world and what it’s like and it’s really difficult.’
And the stunt did the job, with the occasional exception of one of his friends or family breaking character to laugh or joke with the Billie Jean singer.
But he confirmed: ‘It was a lot of fun. It gave me a chance to see, in my way, kind of what the real world is like – even thought it wasn’t the real thing.
‘Eventually I started recognising people, like the woman in the blonde wig is my nanny.
‘Even Elizabeth Taylor was he there,’ he joked, pointing to the image of the actress he allegedly proposed to – allegations his management denied.
Things then became a little less close to everyday supermarket life, as Jackson began playing with the products.
‘It was like being at Disneyland, in my opinion,’ he concluded, ‘because I got to do something I usually don’t get to do.’
Bucket list: ‘It’s my dream to go into a supermarket and just shop. Just be like everybody else and put things in a basket, because I can’t do it,’ he said
She looks familiar: Jackson gave a thumbs up after finding a copy of Life magazine emblazoned with a youthful cover shot of his old friend, Elizabeth Taylor
Don’t shop til you get enough: The spree was part of Fox’s 2003 show Michael Jackson’s Private Home Movies
Supermarket sweet: Jackson appeared to be having the time of his life as he browsed the aisles
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