Elton John and Michael Jackson’s music careers hit the level of success that other artists only dream of. Both had their own unique sounds that transformed the face of music decades ago. Because of this, their music has been the blueprint for other artists, and their hit songs are sampled in popular music today.

However, when it comes to how the two lived their lives, there were virtually no similarities. This is because, by all accounts, Jackson felt severely uncomfortable around adults. He preferred to be in the presence of children.

Regardless of whether people believe he had nefarious intentions behind his time spent with minors, there is no disputing the fact that it was the singer’s lacking social skills that caused him to have problems relating to his peers. Add in pharmaceutical drugs and the like, and it should not come as any surprise that even those who tried to get close to Jackson were unable to, including Elton John.

How Michael Jackson And Elton John Met

Jackson and John met when the singer was in his young teens. When they met, John had nothing but praise for Jackson.

“I’d known Michael since he was 13 or 14,” John explained. “Elizabeth Taylor had turned up on the Starship with him in tow. He was just the most adorable kid you could imagine.”

It was shortly after that initial meeting that the Rocket Man singer invited Jackson and his mother, Katherine over to a party at his house so that John could introduce Katherine to David Furnish. Furnish, who would not only go on to become John’s husband, was a prominent producer. Because of this, John thought that Jackson could benefit from a meeting with him.

However, it was at that party that John began to realize that, despite being in the entertainment industry for nearly a decade at that point, Jackson was painfully shy around adults. It became clear when Jackson was later located after going MIA for a time.

Jackson was found “in a cottage in the grounds of Woodside where my housekeeper lived: she was sitting there, watching Michael Jackson quietly playing video games with her 11-year-old son,” John recalled.

“For whatever reason, he couldn’t seem to cope with adult company at all.”

It was this difference in personality that began to drive a wedge between John and Jackson as the years pressed on.

What Caused Elton John And Michael Jackson To Grow Apart?

As the years went on, John found it harder and harder to relate to Jackson. While they did not feud like John and Tina Turner did over the years, the relationship was starting to show cracks.

Part of this had to do with Jackson being increasingly more uncomfortable in social settings. It also had to do with the fact that the Billie Jean singer was becoming more dependent on prescription drugs as well.

“At some point in the intervening years he started sequestering himself away from the world, and away from reality the way Elvis Presley did,” John explained.

As a result of closing himself off from friends and those outside his tight circle, it was hard for anyone to understand what was fully happening to Jackson. But, it was clear from John’s perspective that by continuing this reclusive behavior and relying on prescription drugs to get through the day, Jackson had changed from the young entertainer John had originally met years before. Because of this, their relationship was not able to be salvaged.

“God knows what was going on in his head, and God knows what prescription drugs he was being pumped full of, but every time I saw him in his later years I came away thinking the poor guy had totally lost his marbles,” John stated.

“I don’t mean that in the light-hearted way.”

This destructive behavior would cause Jackson’s mental state to become fragile and cause him to lose large sums of money on tours that he should have made millions on. Because of this, John was convinced that the Smooth Criminal singer was not mentally well as his life neared its end.

Elton John Believes That Michael Jackson Was “Mentally Ill”

Whether the prescription drugs that were being given to Jackson over the years contributed to a mental health condition he already had to get worse or caused one to form is a topic of speculation that will forever exist.

But according to John, Jackson suffered a mental break of sorts in the years after they first met. And because of this, Jackson was “disturbing to be around.”

“He was genuinely mentally ill, a disturbing person to be around,” John explained. “It was incredibly sad, but he was someone you couldn’t help: he was just gone, off in a world of his own, surrounded by people who only told him what he wanted to hear.”

That inner circle that Jackson relied on consisted of a few stylists, a couple of bodyguards, attorneys, Kenny Ortega, Jackson’s choreographer, Jackson’s children, Prince Michael Jackson, Paris Jackson, who took a break from touring after her father’s death, and Blanket Jackson, Katherine, and of course, Dr. Conrad Murray.

It was this group that kept how bad Jackson’s physical health had gotten in the years after the abuse trial. It was also this group that, in John’s opinion, enabled Jackson to the point that his mental state began to decline over the years.

Had there been others in his circle that would have told Jackson “no,” it is possible he would not have died at such an early age. Unfortunately, that is something the world will never know.