When a 10-Year-Old Macaulay Culkin Got a 'Weird' Call from Michael Jackson

Macaulay Culkin rose to fame after his 90s 'Christmas classic' Home Alone made him a household name. Hollywood's biggies, including late pop sensation Michael Jackson, reached out to him. Culkin revealed the Thriller singer phoned him when he was 10 and asked him "to come over." Since then, their weird friendship has been much talked about in the media.

Culkin shared the details of how he first met Jackson in an interview with Larry King many years later. The former child star said, "I first met him, he kind of called me randomly, like, out of the blue, he was just kind of like, 'Hi, it's Michael', and I'm like, 'Hey.' This was after Home Alone. I'd actually met him once before when I was doing The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center, I was playing Fritz, and he came backstage one day and I actually met him very briefly. And he kind of recognized me because it was after I'd done Uncle Buck." 

Meanwhile, on an episode of the podcast Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum in January 2019, Culkin said he received a call from him, "Yeah, he reached out to me, because a lot of things were happening like, you know, big and fast with me, and I think yes, I think yeah he identified with that. And then he calls me up kind of out of the blue, it's kind of just this weird, random thing. He was like, 'Why don't you come over to my house?'" per Us Weekly. 

In his lifetime, Jackson faced serious allegations of child abuse before he died in 2009 and for this reason, his closeness with Culkin was under surveillance, considering the massive age gap. Leaving Neverland, a two-part documentary on Jackosn's life, showcased two survivors of alleged child abuse by the singer. It premiered in January 2019 on HBO. The grueling film was enough to wipe out the good reputation of the 90s' most idolized music icon. 

Of course, Jackson wasn't there to defend himself from the 'Neverland' allegations, but his nephew Taj Jackson (son of brother Tito) said it was "hurtful" for them to hear these stories. However, he was confident that all this was transitory and wouldn't impact his uncle's legacy, "I think it's temporary in terms of the stain. First of all, I believe the truth will come out. It might take some time. There have been cases when someone has been labeled something and then 10 years later you find out the truth," per BBC. 

Culkin echoed Taj's claims in a cover story of Esquire as he had been considered among those molested by Jackson as a child. But he clarified, "Look, I'm gonna begin with the line — it's not a line, it's the truth: He never did anything to me. I never saw him do anything. And especially at this flash point in time, I'd have no reason to hold anything back. The guy has passed on." 

The 'King of Pop' died in June 2009 of cardiac arrest at his Los Angeles mansion at the age of 50 of acute propofol intoxication. His physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, was found guilty in 2011 of providing the drug to him.