Remembering when Michael Jackson 'fired' his music director mid-song - video

18 August 2020, 17:22

The King of Pop was known to be a perfectionist, so if someone ruined his flow, they knew about it.

There is one such urban legend that Michael Jackson actually fired his music director live on stage during a concert after a dodgy song mix.

During a performance of 'I Just Can't Stop Loving You', he is alleged to have told 'Brad' that he has lost his job, even singing 'Job gone!' at one point. Watch the moment below:

Michael Jackson fired his music director on stage!!

However, this is not the case!

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Reddit user Catch-Up has cleared up what actually happened, explaining that the music director in question was Brad Buxer, a longtime collaborator with Michael.

They wrote: "Michael didn't actually fire him for this mistake. Tech issues happen, Michael knows this.

"The song is meant to cut (not fade) on “and if I stop-“ and then transition to the song 'She’s Out Of My Life'. Michael putting his head in his hand is part of the routine, he’s not rubbing his temples thinking of the tech issue, nor was he saying “job gone” - “doggon” was a common ad lib for him.

"Michael Jackson was a show business professional, and not a complete jerk to work with."

Either way, we still love how Michael kept singing the tune of the song while also speaking to his director, as to avoid the audience discovering the error.