"Weird Al" drops Michael Jackson parodies after 'Leaving Neverland' doco

Content Warning: This article discusses sexual assault. If you or someone you know are affected by the following story, you are not alone. To speak to someone, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.

Veteran musical funnyman “Weird Al” Yankovic has opened up about his decision to drop his most iconic Michael Jackson parodies in the wake of the controversial Leaving Neverland documentary.

Back in 1984, “Weird Al” Yankovic unleashed his second record, In 3-D. Lead single ‘Eat It’ was a parody of the Michael Jackson anthem ‘Beat It’, going on to become his only number one single in the world to date, after the song hit the top of the Australian Kent Music Report.

Four years later, lightning struck twice for Yankovic, with ‘Fat’ – his cover of Jackson’s ‘Bad’ – hitting number 12 on the Aussie charts, and serving as one of the most successful singles of his career.

However if you find yourself heading to a “Weird Al” Yankovic show in the near future, you might want to prepare yourself not to hear either of these iconic tracks, with recent controversies seeing the musician leave them out of his set.

In a recent interview with Billboard, Yankovic explained how the controversy surrounding the Leaving Neverland documentary – which focuses on claims of child sex abuse made against Jackson – has left him apprehensive about including his classic parodies during his show.

“I don’t know if that’s going to be permanent or not,” Yankovic said to Gary Graff, “but we just felt that with what’s happened recently with the HBO documentaries, we didn’t want anybody to feel uncomfortable.

“I felt I had enough fan favorites in the show that I could get away with it. I haven’t gotten a lot of pushback; There have been some people who have expressed disappointment, but we decided to err on the side of not offending people.”

Of course, if this news has left you feeling disappointed, don’t fret, because this is not a permanent decision, but rather one that could see “Weird Al” Yankovic bringing back his iconic ‘Fat’ suit if public opinion swings that way.

“It’s still in storage,” Yankovic says, “so it may come back some day. We’ll see.”

Check out “Weird Al” Yankovic’s cover of ‘Eat It’ by Michael Jackson:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcJjMnHoIBI

While the estate of Michael Jackson has called the documentary nothing but a “tabloid character assassination”, radio stations around the world have dropped Jackson’s music in response, while even his iconic episode of The Simpsons was pulled from streaming services.

Recently, Janet Jackson noted that he brother’s legacy “will continue”, stating that his influence lingers on throughout the world still today, more than 10 years after his passing.

“I love it when I see kids emulating him, when adults still listen to his music,” she explained. “It just lets you know the impact that my family has had on the world.

“I hope I’m not sounding arrogant in any way – I’m just stating what it is. It’s really all God’s doing, and I’m just thankful for that.”

As it stands, it has been over three years since “Weird Al” Yankovic visited Australian shores. There’s no word yet as to whether public opinion will change to the point where he resurrects his Michael Jackson parodies, but it seems that only time will tell.