Here’s Why Michael Jackson Dangled His Baby Over a Hotel Balcony: "I Got Caught Up"

Michael Jackson has been the greatest musician of all time undoubtedly. With the fame that the global icon received came the pressure to keep an upright image. Apart from his music the "King of Pop" was also followed around by the paparazzi for the little details of his personal life. Every action was left for the scrutiny of his fans and followers with the constant bugging of the paps. 

One of the most memorable and controversial moments of Jackson's life was when he planned on introducing his kid to his fans. However, the plan didn't go well as it looked like the vocalist was trying to dangle his baby from the balcony in a rather risky fashion. The incident from 2002 is still fresh in the memories of the Beat It hitmaker's fans. The singer hanging his newborn son from a hotel railing in Berlin sought the attention of the concerned fans who called Jackson out for his juvenile act. The tabloids were running stories with headlines about Jackson's careless parenting. Things cooled off, and sometime later the pop star opened up on why he thought showing his son to the paparazzi below from his third-floor balcony was a good idea then. 

The Grammy-award-winning singer was expected to issue an apology after the incident. Several fans anticipated a mishap when the baby with his head hidden by a kerchief was in the middle of the air. The crowd below started screaming in shock, assuming his action was mistaken as an act of irresponsible behavior Jackson immediately pulled his son back behind the railings. The singing sensation later shared a statement that read, "I got caught up in the excitement of the moment. I would never intentionally endanger the lives of my children," as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Jackson was in Berlin to accept the lifetime Bambi Entertainment Award for his immense attention and philanthropy to the welfare of children. About 200 fans had gathered around the place where the musician was staying. During an interview with Martin Bashir the Billy Jean singer said, "That is terrible! I would never do that to my children or any child," when asked if he knew what people were saying about him after the incident. "Try to kill them? Come on! Stupid! We were waiting for thousands of fans down below. They were chanting to see my child. So I was kind enough to let them see. I was doing something out of innocence." 

Speculations on a weird scale started doing rounds back then. Several claimed Jackson was too protective of his kids to perform such an act, and it was a fake baby. The infant in widely publicized picture and video from the Berlin incident was nicknamed "Blanket." The reason being, that his face was generally covered in a blanket to hide his identity every time Jackson would roam with him marking their public appearance. Originally named Prince Michael II, the youngest son of Jackson went on to change his name to Bigi in 2015 as reported by The Things.