Macaulay Culkin Finally Opens Up And Talks About Michael Jackson And Living With An Abusive Father

WTF Podcast

Macaulay Culkin recently made an appearance on Marc Maron's WTF Podcast. He talked about an array of topics which include his relationship with his father, life as a child star, and his relationship with his "best friend" Michael Jackson. The 38-year-old also talked about what he has been up to for the last two decades, which include his role in Party Monster, doing voice-over work for Robot Chicken, and playing in his band, The Pizza Underground.

Paris

The former Home Alone star splits his time between New York and Paris, where he is able to hide from his American fans. Talking about his life in Paris, Culkin said, "It was one of those things where I thought no one recognized me, but what it was is that they recognized me, but they just didn’t care."

He now spends most of his days writing, painting, and hanging out with his friends, which include his girlfriend, 29-year-old Brenda Song. However, he is not blind to how privileged his life is. "I’m a 30-something retired person walking around with a baguette under my arm. I’m living a good life."

Before settling into a stable home life, he lived a truly hectic life. It was a lot more than a young boy could cope with. Thankfully, he forged a long-established relationship with the superstar, Michael Jackson.

Michael Jackson

Culkin originally met Michael Jackson when he was working on The Nutcracker. They began spending time together after Home Alone was released.

"We were friends. We were actually best friends for a stretch of time while I was growing up. It was a legitimate friendship," Culkin said. "He enjoyed my youthfulness. He liked being a kid. He liked being a kid with me. He liked being around kids, and it never struck me as odd."

Culkin said that his friendship with Michael Jackson never felt weird. He said that it was just the way that it was and he looked at Michael Jackson for who he was. He said he was not enamored with him and they were just friends.

Even though Michael Jackson passed away in 2009, Culkin is still friends with his 19-year-old daughter, Paris. "I’m very protective of her. She's beloved by me," Culkin said of his goddaughter. At this point, he refused to speak any further about the late singer's daughter.

Abusive Father

He was ready to talk about the relationship with his father, though. Culkin admits that, even though he grew up as part of the Hollywood elite, his childhood was not ideal. He did not have a good relationship with his father. He says their relationship only got worse the more they were around each other.

"I'm going around the country locked in a room with a man who didn't like me," Culkin said. "He was a bad man. He was abusive. Physically and mentally."

"Do good, or I'll hit you."

His father was not just abusive towards him. His mother and seven siblings were also victims of his abuse. "He was just a bad dude. A bad abusive man. He was a piece of work," he added.

Culkin recalled an episode of Saturday Night Live that he hosted when he was 11-years-old. His father would not allow Macaulay to use cue cards throughout the whole episode. He would tell him, "Do good, or I'll hit you." That also meant that no other cast member would use cue cards either. A cast member had privately told Culkin that had never been done before.

The Split

Culkin talked about how his life really improved after doing the movie Richie Rich. This was when his parents finally separated. He said it was the best thing to ever happen to him. He was finally able to walk away from the business saying, "I hope you made all your money because there’s no more coming from me." After that, he went on to get emancipated so he could remove his parent's control over his earning and live a normal life as a teenager.

Life Goes On

To this day, Culkin is estranged from his father, but it has not stopped him from pursuing challenges that matter to him. Currently, he co-hosts the Bunny Ears podcast with Matt Cohen and will be making an appearance in Changeland, which will come out sometime this year.