The ‘Very Offensive’ Advice Michael Jackson Gave Donny Osmond originally appeared on Parade.
Singer Donny Osmondrecently shared a clip that showed him talking about his late friend Michael Jackson, who died in 2009 at the age of 50.
Remind Magazine reported that Osmond uploaded a clip from a 2023 interview on the Adam Carolla Show on Instagram. In the video, shared on Instagram on July 30, Osmond explained that his name worked against him in the music industry in the 1980s, likely due to his 1970s variety show, Donny & Marie, which also starred his sister, Marie Osmond.
“The name Donny Osmond was a joke, years ago. If you said you liked Donny Osmond music, you were ousted. In fact, it was WPLJ in New York, they got a hold of [my 1988 song] ‘Soldier of Love’ as an import. They played the record to test it cause they liked the song, but they just didn’t want to say my name,” said Osmond in the interview.
He then said Jackson advised him to change his name to better his chances of revitalizing his music career. Osmond said he wasn’t all that happy with said advice.
“In fact, back in ’83, which is just, I think, around the time Thriller came out. Michael Jackson told me, he said — cause I asked him, ‘Mike, how do I get back on the charts?’ He said, ‘Your name’s poison, Donny. You’ve gotta change your name,'” said Osmond. “And it was very offensive, I mean, it was tough to hear that. But he was right. Because in ’89, radio stations all across the country played my music, but didn’t say my name. And they did me a favor by not saying who I was. And it became a hit — then they found out it was me.”
Entertainment Weekly reported that Osmond, who was a part of his family’s music group, The Osmonds, explained his closeness to Jackson in the 2024 documentary Larger than Life: Reign of the Boybands. In the documentary, Osmond noted that he and Jackson, who famously performed with his brothers in The Jackson Five, bonded for several reasons. For instance, they both navigated childhood fame and performed with their large families. According to Osmond, Jackson once told him, “‘Donny, you’re the only person on this planet that knows what my childhood was like.’”
“I spent a lot of time with Michael Jackson. I mean, you look at the Osmonds and the Jackson 5, the comparisons of the two families are just uncanny. There’s nine children in each family. Mike and I are both the seventh child of nine. Our mothers’ birthdays are on the same day. Michael and I are the same age,” said Osmond, per Entertainment Weekly.
The ‘Very Offensive’ Advice Michael Jackson Gave Donny Osmond first appeared on Parade on Aug 16, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 16, 2025, where it first appeared.
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