The King of Pop received a royal tribute at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night.
Madonna took the stage in a somber black outfit to open the ceremony, telling the crowd that the late pop star had been a “King” – but also a human.
“When you never get to have something, you become obsessed with it,” she said of Michael’s lost childhood.
“There is no question that Michael Jackson is one of the greatest talents the world has ever known,” she continued. “The way he moved had the elegance of Fred Astaire and packed the punch of Muhammad Ali.”
She recalled a night in 1991 when she and Michael had gone to dinner and returned to her home to watch a movie.
“Somewhere in the middle of the film, his hand snuck over and held mine. It felt like he was looking for a friend more than a romance, and I was happy to oblige him. In that moment, he didn’t feel like a superstar, but a human being,” she remembered.
She discussed Michael’s public troubles and “the roar of the lynch mob” that drowned him out in later years, telling the crowd, “We had abandoned him… most of us had turned our backs on him.
“He was so unique, so original, so rare,” she concluded. “He was a king – but he was also a human being. We are all human beings and sometimes, we have to lose things before we appreciate them.”
Following Madonna’s moving address, a dance tribute to Michael hit the stage.
A montage of the star’s songs and videos played, including “Thriller,” “Bad,” “Smooth Criminal” and finally, “Scream.”
Dancers in classic Michael outfits mimicked his moves as the music played.
During the star’s duet with sister Janet Jackson during the song “Scream,” Janet herself joined the dancers, singing the song and leading them in a striking black-and-white outfit.
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