Did Michael Jackson know the rockstar Prince?

Prince and Michael definitely knew each other, and are, by many, considered old friendly rivals. Michael Jackson even showed up to 2 Purple Rain shows backstage. Although Michael Jackson did want to work with Prince a few years later, Prince declined due to lyrical differences.

Michael Bland insisted they got along fine. "They'd shoot hoops at Paisley Park," Prince's studio/home in Chanhassen. "We used to get packages from MJJ Productions [with] footage of Sly Stone performing in Europe. Prince would pop it in the VCR, and we'd watch it."

Prince even defended Michael at a press conference in 2000 where he said something along the lines of "we don't really know what is going on with him and maybe we need to chill on that."