Mark Ronson Reflects on Childhood Meeting with Michael Jackson Amid Abuse Allegatio
Mark Ronson Reflects on Childhood Encounter with Michael Jackson, Says Allegations Made Him See It Differently
Music producer Mark Ronson has opened up about a childhood memory with Michael Jackson — one that he now views through a different lens following the abuse allegations against the late pop icon.
In his new memoir Night People: How to Be a DJ in ’90s New York City, the 50-year-old Grammy winner recalls growing up just blocks away from the legendary Dakota apartments in New York City, a building that housed famous residents like John Lennon’s son, Sean Lennon, and, at one point, Michael Jackson during his Bad tour.
Ronson describes Jackson as playful and childlike during his stay at the Dakota, recalling how the singer would toss “soggies” (wads of wet toilet paper) from the window and run through the hallways with a laser pointer. At the time, young Ronson was eager to hear some music from the superstar and even convinced him to hum a few bars of Smooth Criminal.
“Michael seemed more like a kid than I did in that moment,” Ronson recalls. Despite the surreal nature of the experience, he admits he never told anyone at school — sensing even then how strange it would sound to casually say he had been hanging out with the King of Pop.
Years later, especially after the release of the 2019 HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, in which Wade Robson and James Safechuck alleged Jackson sexually abused them as children, Ronson says he often revisited that memory with new perspective.
“Of course, with the allegations that came later, it made me re-examine that event many times,” he told The Sun. “I wouldn’t say it’s a highlight of my childhood, but it was certainly one of the most memorable. And when I looked back on it, there was nothing weird or untoward that happened that night.”
Jackson, who died in 2009 at age 50, remains one of the most polarizing figures in pop culture — celebrated as a musical genius while also shadowed by controversy. His estate has long denied the allegations and continues to defend his legacy.
Ronson’s memoir, Night People, is now available, offering readers a candid glimpse into New York’s vibrant 1990s club scene as well as the extraordinary encounters that shaped his path in music.
