Michael Jackson’s Nephew Taj Questions ‘King of Pop’ Title for Harry Styles

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Honoring his uncle. Taj Jackson was not thrilled by Rolling Stone calling Harry Styles the new “King of Pop” — which he addressed while reflecting on Michael Jackson‘s legacy.

“There is no new King of Pop. You don’t own the title @RollingStone, and you didn’t earn it, my uncle did. Decades of dedication and sacrifice,” Taj, 49, tweeted on Monday, August 22. “The title has been retired. No disrespect to @Harry_Styles, he’s mega talented. Give him his own unique title.”

The California native’s social media post quote-tweeted a cover from the magazine of Styles, 28, that read, “How the new King of Pop set the music world aflame.”

Taj clarified that he wasn’t calling out the former One Direction band member with his tweet, writing, “Notice how they never crown someone ‘The new boss’ or ‘the new king.’” He also shared a tweet from a fan, which read, “This isn’t about Harry styles. It’s about rolling stone constantly disrespecting Michael Jackson and we’re tired.”

The late performer came to be known as the “King of Pop” after a four-decade career as a singer, songwriter and dancer. His time in the music industry produced hits including “Beat It,” “Billie Jean” and “Thriller.” Before his death in 2009 at age 50, Michael became one of the best-selling music artists of all time and he won 15 Grammy Awards.

Styles, for his part, reflected on his own music career during his interview with Rolling Stone. In the cover story, the U.K. native opened up about learning to adjust to acting after spending most of his life as a performer.

“In music, there’s such an immediate response to what you do. You finish a song and people clap,” he said on Monday, referring to his time working on Don’t Worry Darling alongside Florence Pugh and Olivia Wilde. “When you’re filming and they say ‘cut,’ there’s maybe part of you that expects everyone to start clapping, [but] they don’t. Everyone, obviously, goes back to doing their jobs, and you’re like, ‘Oh, s–t, was it that bad?’”

The My Policeman actor, who has been dating Wilde, 38, since they met on set late last year, also addressed critics who claimed he was “queer baiting” fans with his sexuality.

“Sometimes people say, ‘You’ve only publicly been with women,’ and I don’t think I’ve publicly been with anyone,” he added. “If someone takes a picture of you with someone, it doesn’t mean you’re choosing to have a public relationship or something. … I think everyone, including myself, has your own journey with figuring out sexuality and getting more comfortable with it.”

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