Spike Lee almost turned down this opportunity to work with Michael Jackson on one of his most iconic songs back in the 1990s.
In an interview with Stereogum for the publication’s “We’ve Got a File On You” series, the 68-year-old filmmaker and director discussed his thoughts and the behind-the-scenes of his work, including collaborating with Denzel Washington in Highest 2 Lowest, commissioning a song from Public Enemy for his movie Do the Right Thing (1989) and the impact of Stevie Wonder’s 1973 song, “Living for the City” on his career.
One topic of discussion was what it was like working with Michael Jackson, who passed away in June 2009. Lee directed the short film for Jackson’s 1995 hit “They Don’t Care About Us.” The late singer famously referred to his music videos as “short films,” highlighting how he approached them differently from typical music videos.
“Mike called me out in blue. I hung up on him like three, four times, because I didn’t believe it was him,” Lee recalled. “He came to my house and he gave me the CD to put in the player, and said, ‘Pick one song.’ He played them all.”
After listening to the CD, Lee explained that he originally chose “Stranger in Moscow,” but Jackson insisted that he chose “They Don’t Care About Us.”
“No, you don’t want [‘Stranger in Moscow’]! The song you want is ‘They Don’t Care About Us,’ Jackson said to Lee. Then Lee responded, “Mike, if that’s the song you want me to do, I’ll do it! But you asked me to pick the song!”
Lee ended up directing two music videos for “They Don’t Care About Us.” The official music video was filmed in Brazil, even though state authorities tried to ban Jackson from filming. Some were concerned that scenes of poverty and human rights abuses would affect their chances of hosting the 2004 Olympics, while others supported Jackson’s wish to highlight the problems of the region, arguing that the government was embarrassed by their own failures. A case was made for the rights to film in Rio de Janeiro, and Jackson and his team were granted permission to shoot the music video there.
The second version, titled “They Don’t Care About Us (Prison Version),” was filmed in a jail with actual prisoners, and had real footage of various human rights abuses such as police attacking African Americans (including the beating of Rodney King), the military crackdown of the protests in Tiananmen Square and the assassination attempt of George Wallace, among others. This version was only aired at certain hours due to controversial content.
“They Don’t Care About Us” was the fourth single for the late singer’s 1995 album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. Considered one of the most controversial pieces Jackson ever composed, this protest song recieved a lot of media scrutiny due to surrounding allegations of antisemitic lyrics, which caused Jackson to issue multiple clarifications, apologies, defense from Lee and re-releasing an edited version of the song.
The song gained attention and relevance due to its use during Black Lives Matter protests in 2014, 2015 and 2020.
In 2020, Lee put together a third music video that incorporates pieces of both the Brazil and prison versions, as well as footage from the Black Lives Matter protests that took place in various cities around the world, after the death of George Floyd.
Lee is currently promoting his latest project, Highest 2 Lowest, starring Denzel Washington, whichwas recently released and is available on Apple TV+.
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This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 8, 2025, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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