As for Michael Jackson, Stephanie Mills — the R&B legend who played Dorothy in the Tony Award-winning musical “The Wiz” 50 years ago.
The 67-year-old songstress, who was in a relationship with Jackson in the ’70s, remains fiercely loyal to the King of Pop and continues to defend his legacy despite child sexual abuse allegations that emerged in 1993 and 2003.
In the former case, Jackson was accused of sexually abusing then-13-year-old Jordan Chandler, but the case was settled out of court in January 1994. Meanwhile, in the latter case, the “Thriller” singer was acquitted of all charges of sexually abusing another minor, Gavin Arvizo, during his 2005 trial.
Despite the ugly accusations against Jackson made public in the 2019 film Leaving Neverland, Mills continues to rock with him, 15 years after Jackson’s death in 2009 at age 50.
“I loved him,” she told The Washington Post, “and we had a great friendship, a great relationship, and I don’t like it when people try to attack what he built, because he was never charged with anything. And I knew him very well.”
of Grammy Award-winning singer — He’s currently returning to his first Broadway musical since “The Wiz” as Hermes in a folk opera set in the Greek underworld. “Hadestown” “He doesn’t do anything to kids, that’s a fact, that’s why I keep his name alive and post about him. [on social media]”Because they want to forget you and throw you away. How is that possible? He was one of the greatest entertainers in the world.”
Time “I’ve never felt love like this before” Diana Ross missed out on the lead role of Dorothy in Sidney Lumet’s 1978 film The Wiz, but she’s not bitter about missing out on sharing the big screen with Jackson’s Scarecrow.
“When they first tried to [the movie adaptation of] “With The Wiz , there was another director who wanted me to play Dorothy,” Mills explained.
But she was more than happy to let the Motown icon stroll down the street in her ruby slippers – after all, Ross was the Beyoncé of her day.
“Everyone knows I’m a huge fan of Miss Ross the Boss,” she said, “so I wasn’t disappointed. I got the chance to be with my darling Michael and I lived with him in Sutton Place while he was filming the movie. [in New York].
“So I wasn’t disappointed. Michael jacksonSo I didn’t care.”
