The One Fast Food Chicken Michael Jackson Was Apparently Obsessed With
Michael Jackson lived with routines that gave him a sense of comfort in an unpredictable life. One habit that followed him across tours, meetings, and travel was his attachment to KFC. He had access to chefs, expensive restaurants, and extravagant menus, but a familiar bucket often replaced all of it. His order stayed the same, and he returned to it with steady loyalty.
KFC Became Part of His Daily Routine
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Ralf Roletschek
Michael Jackson treated KFC like an everyday staple instead of an occasional treat. His regular order centered on Original Recipe chicken breasts, paired with mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, biscuits, butter spray, and strawberry jelly.
At breakfast, he added scrambled eggs to the plate. Meanwhile, flight records showed that he repeated the same meal throughout his travels. He washed it down with white wine poured into Diet Coke cans, which helped him keep a low profile.
His Love for KFC Led to Memorable Encounters
Magic Johnson once shared a story about visiting Jackson for dinner and watching the singer ignore a gourmet dish in favor of a bucket of fried chicken. Johnson grabbed a piece and joined him on the floor, and that visit led to the basketball icon’s role in the “Remember the Time” music video.
During a hometown visit to Gary, Indiana, Jackson bought out an entire KFC and passed chicken to fans through his car window. Another story described him making a music executive wait so he could walk down the street and pick up his meal.
He Balanced That Habit with a Very Different Diet Phase
Before his most devoted KFC years, Jackson followed a vegetarian diet under the guidance of personal chef Mani Niall. Niall described him as a “vegetarian who didn’t like vegetables,” which made meal planning difficult.
Jackson favored dishes like vegetarian pizza with shiitake mushrooms and eggplant, tofu shish kebabs with couscous, and spicy enchiladas with smoky red chili sauce. Niall often found creative ways to add vegetables without drawing attention to them, especially on pizza.
He also cooked and passed down a sweet potato pie recipe to his daughter, Paris. Even with those detours, KFC remained the most consistent throughout his life and eventually became the detail people remember most about his food preferences.
His Eating Habits Included Other Alarming Patterns
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Matthew Rolston
Michael Jackson’s borderline obsession with fried chicken wasn’t the only detail that raised concerns. His eating habits overall were unpredictable and, at times, concerning. He often skipped meals entirely, especially during intense work periods, which left his chef unsure when or if he would eat.
During one period, he avoided solid food for long stretches and mainly relied on liquids. Despite trying vegetarianism, he disliked vegetables and needed them disguised in dishes like pizza or tofu kebabs to tolerate them. He preferred cookies made with maple syrup instead of sugar and avoided everyday staples like pasta and chocolate.
Toward the end of his life, he reportedly needed reminders to eat and help cutting chicken into pieces. Still, he made time to sit with his children for meals, even when he didn’t eat much himself.