Chris Tucker has never played about his love for Michael Jackson. Tucker rose to prominence as a comedian with his portrayal of the “King of Pop” in his standup shows and movie roles.
So it’s no big surprise of the drastic measures Tucker took to meet Jackson in person. In a recent interview with GQ, the Friday star recalled meeting the music icon after his celebrity status grew thanks to the Rush Hour franchise.
“I was in New York for two days waiting to meet MJ,” Tucker said. “I took a private jet there.”
After the 48-hour wait, Tucker gave up hope and was headed back to LA when he got the message in the middle of his trip that MJ was in NYC ready to meet him.
“I said, ‘Well, I ain’t heard from him, I got to go.’ Took a private jet back to LA and as soon as I landed, I had a message: ‘Michael Jackson wants to meet you tomorrow morning.’ I was still on the plane,” Tucker explained.
“I went up to the captain and said, ‘I’ll pay you whatever you want to take me back to New York.'”
From there Tucker became good friends with Jackson who would often encourage the rising film star to keep up the hard work.
“He used to always say, ‘Let’s make history,'” Tucker said of the late King of Pop. “‘We want to see more of you, Chris! What are you doing?'”
Tucker would go on to star in MJ’s 2001 video for “Rock My World” and perform his signature impersonation of the “Thriller” singer throughout.
Currently, Tucker has returned to the big screen alongside Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Viola Davis in the new film, Air, about the start of Michael Jordan’s life- and culture-changing endorsement deal with Nike that was hatched in 1984.