Michael Jackson’s ‘Black or White’ Music Video Turns 25: What You Didn’t Know
On Nov. 14, 1991, Michael Jackson debuted his epic 11-minute music video for “Black or White.” The release strategy was as grandiose as the video itself: “Black or White” premiered simultaneously in 28 countries to an audience of 500 million people. In the U.S., it aired on Fox, MTV, and BET and was almost immediately met with controversy.
The video’s final four minutes, now referred to as the “panther sequence,” featured Jackson transforming into a black panther. Later, human form Jackson aggressively grabbed his crotch and destroyed a car that was riddled with racist graffiti. The video was subsequently recut — and re-aired — without the last sequence.
“Black or White” cost a whopping $4 million to make and featured rising child star (and friend to MJ) Macaulay Culkin. The two were known for their onset pranks, sometimes at the expense of the crew. Director John Landis, who helmed Jackson’s megahit “Thriller,” said that one day they didn’t show up for work. He later found out they had visited Toys “R” Us … and spent $60,000 dollars.
The video also features one of the first instances of CGI, in a “morphing” scene that blends together models of different genders and ethnicities. One of those models was 17-year-old Tyra Banks. She’s onscreen for all of four seconds but manages to stand out since she forgot the choreography and decided to wing it by sticking out her tongue.
Watch our birthday tribute to Leonardo DiCaprio:
