Lionel Richie Reveals Michael Jackson’s Less-Than-Glamorous Habits

Celebrity memoirs often peel back layers of glamour and myth, giving readers a glimpse of what life is really like behind the stage lights. Lionel Richie’s new memoir, Truly, does exactly that - but with an extra dose of humor and surprise.

While many fans might expect stories about fame, love, and the pressures of music, Richie also lets readers in on something far more unexpected: Michael Jackson’s questionable hygiene habits. The two music legends were close during Jackson’s early solo years, sharing the same creative circles with producer Quincy Jones.

Richie, known for his smooth voice and romantic hits, recalls their friendship with warmth but doesn’t shy away from the oddities that came with it. In one of the book’s more talked-about moments, Richie reveals that Jackson wasn’t exactly the cleanest person around - a detail that became both an inside joke and a lesson in patience.

According to Richie, Jackson’s hygiene was so poor that he and Quincy Jones began teasing him with the nickname “Smelly.” It wasn’t meant cruelly - in fact, Jackson laughed along.

The name stuck because, as Richie explains, Jackson would sometimes go days without realizing he hadn’t changed or washed his clothes.

“Michael would laugh, too, realizing that he was oblivious to the fact that he hadn’t changed or washed his clothes for a couple of days or so. We all have our quirks,” Richie wrote.

Michael Jackson’s obsession with a free pair of jeans left Lionel Richie both amused and baffled.

Richie describes Jackson as someone who could effortlessly shift from elaborate stage costumes to everyday clothes that seemed almost like an afterthought. When visiting Richie, the pop icon would show up in worn jeans and a plain T-shirt - clothes that didn’t exactly fit, and sometimes, well, smelled.

“The jeans were either falling off him or too short to even be jeans and, well, smelly,” Richie recalled.

When Richie finally asked him where he got those shabby jeans, Jackson apparently told him:

“Lionel, I walked by a store in the Valley. The owner came out and gave me a free pair.”

That was all the encouragement Jackson needed. He never stopped wearing them. Richie wrote that Jackson treated the jeans as a “souvenir,” wearing them until they were basically falling apart.

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At one point, Richie tried to intervene. He bought Jackson a fresh pair of jeans and clean underwear, gently suggesting he take a shower and change. Jackson agreed, grateful for the gesture, and Richie thought the matter was settled.

But when he returned home later that day, he stumbled upon a surprise.

“As soon as I walked back into my house, I passed by the living room and noticed that there on the carpet was the pair of Michael Jackson’s underwear and his old ratty jeans. Just lying there like roadkill,” Richie wrote. All he could do was laugh. “What do I do but laugh? MJ was here.”

Richie’s stories reveal Jackson’s humanity beneath the fame and eccentricity.

Richie’s recollections of Jackson don’t come from a place of mockery. They reflect a genuine affection between two artists who shared extraordinary lives and human flaws.

Jackson, one of the most famous people on Earth, often lived in his own world, surrounded by stylists, handlers, and fans - yet, in Richie’s stories, he comes across as endearingly oblivious and deeply human.

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Beyond the anecdotes about Jackson, Truly delves into the more intimate corners of Richie’s life - from his rise to fame to the heartbreak that followed his affair and the collapse of his first marriage. Still, it’s the smaller, oddly tender memories, like those with Jackson, that linger the most.

They peel back the glamour and show the lighter side of music’s golden era - when even megastars could forget to do their laundry. By mixing humor with honesty, Richie doesn’t just spill celebrity secrets; he captures the spirit of friendship, creativity, and eccentricity that shaped a generation of artists.

In the end, his story about Jackson isn’t really about bad hygiene - it’s about how fame, flaws, and genuine connection can coexist in the same breath. And that’s what makes Truly feel, well, truly human.