SoloFlow

[El Reno **Commissions open** 0/5 @Double_Zr_Tap]

Samus and Hornet

[Anish Moonka @anishmoonka]

Part 2. Michael Jackson never wanted to change a single word of this song.

He was forced to. A week before the album came out, The New York Times leaked the lyrics and called two of them antisemitic (“Jew me, sue me” and “kick me, kike me”). That same night, 60 million Americans were watching him talk to Diane Sawyer. He said he wasn’t racist. It didn’t land. The Simon Wiesenthal Center, one of the biggest Jewish civil rights groups in the world, wrote him demanding the words come off the record.

Three weeks later, executives from his label flew him to a Sony studio in New York to re-record the lines. According to a memoir from one of those execs, Jackson didn’t say a single word to them the entire walk to the booth. He was furious. He re-sang “do me, sue me” over the old line. He changed “kike me” to “strike me.” He left.

The song tanked in America. It peaked at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100. His previous single had been #1. His whole 90s run had been #1 s. This was the floor.

Then something strange happened over the next 25 years. The song refused to die.

In 2014, after Ferguson, crowds started playing it at protests. In 2020, after George Floyd, they were singing it on the streets in Atlanta, London, Cape Town, Paris, Rio. On what would have been Jackson’s 62nd birthday that August, Spike Lee cut together a third version of the music video, splicing in footage from those protests around the world. In 2023, the original Brazil video crossed 1 billion views on YouTube.

The kid voice you hear at the start of the song (the one yelling “Enough is enough of this garbage”) is still there in every single play.

The song America tried to bury at #30 became a protest anthem in 20+ countries. The day after Jackson died in 2009, the mayor of Rio announced a statue of him in the hillside slum (favela) where he filmed the video. It’s still standing.

[Anish Moonka @anishmoonka]

Michael Jackson had to cut a deal with a drug lord to film this video. The Brazilian government tried to block the shoot. A judge banned the filming. The police refused to enter the area.

Rio was bidding to host the 2004 Olympics and didn't want the world seeing footage of its poorest neighborhoods. So Spike Lee walked into the favela (Rio's version of a hillside slum) and found the local crime boss. His name was Marcinho VP. He ran one of the city's biggest gangs, Comando Vermelho. He also happened to be a huge Jackson fan, and he provided the whole production with security for free.

A higher court eventually overturned the ban. The police still wouldn't go in. So 1,500 police officers and 50 residents acting as security guards sealed off the favela. Jackson arrived by helicopter. He walked the streets handing out candy to the kids. The people who lived there had woken up early that morning to sweep the streets and take out the trash before he got there.

Mid-shoot, two women burst through security. One knocked Jackson flat. Spike Lee helped him up and he kept dancing. That exact take is in the final video.

For the Salvador half of the shoot, he worked with 200 drummers from a local group called Olodum. The media coverage put them on the map in 140 countries. They'd been a regional act before the shoot. They became a global one after.

Over 200 million people watched the premiere around the world. The song itself peaked at #30 in America. In Germany it went to #1 and stayed on the chart for 30 weeks, the longest run of any Jackson song there. The video crossed 1 billion views on YouTube in 2023. Only one other Jackson video has done that: Billie Jean. He's the first solo male singer from the 1900s with two videos over a billion.

The day after Jackson died in 2009, Rio's mayor announced they'd put a statue of him in the same favela where the video was shot. Locals said the turnaround of their neighborhood started with his visit.

[Marus_Circle @Marus_Circle]

#holopromise #holocouncil #holoenrewind

[SoloFlow @dragonslayer21k]

@otu_kairi This is fantastic art, I really love the details ❤️💙❤️

[gobble @gobble_2u]

#呪術廻戦
I helped out as a second key animator on Jujutsu Kaisen episode #51.
呪術廻戦51話の二原に参加しました〜
Thanks for watching⚔️

[ホネほね @Hone_honeHONE]

呪術廻戦51話、原画で参加してました
関わってくださった皆様ありがとうございました！

[trubwlsum ✨ @trubwlsum]

I tried to forget... this fear

#JJK

[Peagade @peagade__]

𝐸𝓍𝓉𝓇𝑒𝓂𝑒 𝓋𝒾𝑜𝓁𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒

[Justin Wong @JWonggg]

I hate this

[Besky | Project Reforged @BlindRedDog]

Hello everyone, the big day has finally arrived for me, and I'm presenting the first alpha demo for Project Reforged. This demo has reached this level thanks to your wonderful feedback so I'm counting on your continued support. Hope you like it :)

https://t.co/EGmq62HaNx

[cheese @sonic1nstinct]

"Please Mahoraga, I need this, the Sumurians are kinda homeless"

[Gigi Murin👧holoEN @gigimurin]

askin fumiko hoshi for fighting game advice since she was so good at helping us win at that other fighting game but she just makin shit up!!!!!!!!!!!!

WAKE UP!!!!! NUMBER NOTATIONS ARENT REAL!!!!!!!!!!!! THEYRE LYING TO YOU!!!

[Gigi Murin👧holoEN @gigimurin]

ummm ok sure

[Ggs Art @Ggsbizarre_art]

☆MichaelJackson
What is your favorite MJ song ⁉️🫵

[ksonSOUCHOU🍕 @ksononair]

GOOOOOD MORNING MOTHER FUCKERS!!!!🥰

[Bobsta01 @bobsta01]

#inART
#Immergination
CC: "Something's off"

[Kais3r // comm close @TentacleLuver]

Ina in the arena mage collab be like :
#inART #いなート

[Bobsta01 @bobsta01]

#inART
Ina's honest reaction to that information

[Miru @Kizuru09]

"Stand proud, Cecilia. You're strong."
#inART
#Immergination