Legendary king of pop, Michael Jackson’s name was erased from the MTV’s Video Vanguard Award at the latest edition of the media house’s awards show on Monday, August 26, 2019.
According to report obtained from Page Six, Jackson’s name was removed from the award due to the potential backlash after HBO’s screening of controversial documentary ‘Leaving Neverland’, which focused on his alleged sexual abuses.
The award which was renamed after the iconic dancer in 1991, had Jackson’s name on the press release sent out to announce the honour of this year’s receipiant, Missy Elliott, however, the name failed to appear in other promos for the award event.
While we await MTV’s comment on the decision to remove the ‘Thriller’ singer’s name, Elliott had on Monday, credited the late dancer in her acceptance speech. “The Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award means so much to me,” she said.
In related news, today marks Jackson’s 61st posthumous birthday. His albums were world bestsellers including Thriller “the best-selling album of all time” which sold over 66 million copies. Despite his demise, he remains an inspiration to many musicians and dancers across the world.