Ruby Marriott, a British teen, has gone viral for a rather odd reason: crying about her fear of Michael Jackson.
Marriott was recently the subject of a widely circulated TikTok that shows her having a moment during her Mediterranean vacation when she was confronted unexpectedly by a Michael Jackson impersonator during a night out.
@mace_mour first night in aiya napa took a turn for the worse♬ original sound – Mace
@ruby_marriott More footage of the awful incident @Mace ♬ original sound – Ruby xx
With the video solely centered on Marriott’s troubled response to the Michael Jackson impersonator, the 18-year-old was sure to provide more context behind the incident.
“I have a genuine fear of Michael Jackson. It all started when I was younger, at about five years old,” she said, MEAWW reports. “My sister and my cousin used to show me creepy edited videos of him that people made and conspiracy theories that he’s alive.”
“Even when his music plays, I have a rush of fear through me. Thriller is the main song that scares me, mainly because of watching the music video when I was younger, and it is one of his biggest hits, so it’s played around me a lot,” Marriott continued. “If a family member plays his songs, I have to walk out of the room.”
She also detailed an incident that only further solidified her alleged “phobia.”
“The fear started getting worse when we went on a family holiday to L.A. and stayed in a house we rented for three weeks,” she began. “There was a door with about eight padlocks on it, and one of my family members jokingly said, ‘What if Michael Jackson is hiding in there?’ knowing my phobia of him.”
“Every night for three weeks, I had the same nightmare of him creeping out of the wardrobe and coming for me while I was asleep. It was awful!” Marriott added.
@ruby_marriott No one talk to me I’m too famous for crying about Michael Jackson on tiktok @Mace ♬ motive by ariana ft doja – 💍🌿🤍🧩🖨
While the video was originally uploaded on TikTok, it really began to pick up steam when it began circulating on Twitter.
“It’s so strange that Michael Jackson phobia is a common phobia that ppl have…I don’t know any other celebrity that goes through something like this,” one user who tweeted the video in question observed.
it’s so strange that michael jackson phobia is a common phobia that ppl have…i don’t know any other celebrity that goes through something like this 😭 https://t.co/LbdINO2Rjk
— nini (@jentlebaby) August 24, 2022
With more eyes on the upload, other Twitter users began chiming in to share that they also used to be afraid of the King of Pop, who passed away 13 years ago.
my older brother convinced me that mj was living in my closet and the way our rooms were his bed in his room shared the wall of my closet and he would scratch on the walls and do the heehee and he did this until i was 9
— elias (@strwbrrysugr) August 25, 2022
i feel like everyone had this experience as a kid 😭 pic.twitter.com/x8ELjwexw9
— . (@hhhulian) August 25, 2022
😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/siguPI8vl9
— jus❤️🔥 (@jusquapo) August 25, 2022
SCARY MOVIE 3 IM CRYING I FORGOT ABOUT THAT 😭 like why did they do him like that
— Taylor ☽ ☀︎ ⚘ ッ (@TaylorIsCrying) August 25, 2022
However, we also have to point out that not everyone felt this way, as a plethora of users called out people’s supposed Michael Jackson phobia as being nothing more than thinly veiled racist and ableist sentiments.
Michael Jackson had suffered from autoimmune diseases and terrible skin conditions like vitiligo and lupus
Having a “phobia” or being scared of this black man makes you nothing but a Racist and Ableist pic.twitter.com/rApTWGoFro
— 𝓥𝓮𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓲𝓬𝓪💫 | fan account (@iamveronica777) August 24, 2022
I’m sick of the “I’m scared of Michael Jackson” narrative.
— j.’s groove. (@therealjaren1) August 25, 2022
Why is it always YT ppl that be talking about how theyre afraid of michael jackson ? Seems racist to me
— уσυ gινє мє вυттєяƒℓιєѕ 🦋 (@ShaysInvincible) August 25, 2022
All the grown adults saying they “have a phobia of Michael Jackson” someone with health issues… So if you see someone with a skin condition, you what start screaming in their face? How do you people manage to keep you jobs?
— Name cannot be blank (@HaseenaAY4199) August 24, 2022
anyone older than 10 walking around saying they have a michael jackson “phobia” is a loser https://t.co/gzZ14g1Lvn
— kynz! ⁷ is dating jimin (@UGHKYNZ) August 25, 2022
If a white girl were to come on here and say she has a phobia of darkskin black men and proceeded to list the stereotypes of black men that make them scary people would clearly see the racism but when it comes to Michael Jackson there’s a free pass https://t.co/bZ3mviCfgw
— roch is HEATED 🔥🥵 (@youngvenusian) August 24, 2022
Racism and Ignorance are not “a phobia”.
Be respectful to Michael Jackson. He fought against Ignorance during his entire life. Educate yourself, we’re in 2022. https://t.co/3js3JCFb4Z pic.twitter.com/axaboHRv5z
— 𝘕𝘈𝘌𝘋 ◡̈ (@mjjNAED) August 25, 2022
no one in their right mind would dare to have a phobia towards people with health issues because it’s wrong & dehumanising
but when it comes to michael jackson, it’s “hahaha lmaoooo” 😑
— andy ✞ (@moonwalkghostin) August 24, 2022
Still, there were others who doubled down and said that they understand where people proclaiming their “phobia of Michael Jackson” are coming from.
“how are you afraid of michael jackson” that man was textbook definition uncanny valley in the early 2000s!!!!!
— cloverbugg 💌🫀🌈🏩🧄🫁 (@cowboycl0ver) August 25, 2022
How you getting mad at ppl cause at some point in time during their childhoods, they had a phobia of Michael Jackson???
— Kaba Ké 🇬🇳 (@_PrinceMohamed) August 26, 2022
Regardless of which side of the fence you land on, though, both sides were nonetheless still blown away by just how many people shared that they afraid of Michael Jackson.
I did not know so many people were afraid of Michael Jackson LOL
— Sarah Tonin (@sarahjnthecity) August 25, 2022
What do you think about people’s alleged Michael Jackson phobia, and do you share similar sentiments?