Michael Jackson’s silent revenge: How he turned Eminem’s diss into a $370 million power move

They say all is fair in love and war, and when Eminem mocked Michael Jackson in one of his tracks, it was nothing short of war between two of music’s biggest icons. What followed wasn’t a heated exchange of words or a lyrical retaliation, but one of the most unexpected and poetic acts of revenge in pop culture history, one that Jackson pulled off without saying a word.

The diss that sparked the feud

In 2004, Eminem released Just Lose It, a song from his album Encore that took aim at the King of Pop with mockery that many fans and critics found distasteful. The Detroit rapper made fun of Jackson’s plastic surgery and even reenacted the infamous 1984 Pepsi commercial accident in which Jackson’s hair caught fire.The lyrics and accompanying video were enough to trigger outrage. Speaking to a Los Angeles radio station, Jackson said, “I’ve admired Eminem as an artist, and was shocked by this.

The video was inappropriate and disrespectful to me, my children, my family and the community at large.”

In a later interview, Jackson added, “I’ve never met Mr Eminem, and to have, I’ve always admired him, and to have him do something like that has been pretty painful.”Despite Jackson’s disappointment, Eminem didn’t apologise, and Just Lose It went on to become a commercial success. But Michael Jackson, known for his calm and quiet demeanour, had something else in mind, a comeback that would be more powerful than any diss track could ever be.

The ultimate revenge

Three years later, in 2007, Jackson’s company Sony/ATV pulled off a deal that stunned the industry. The partnership acquired Famous Music, a Viacom subsidiary, for $370 million. As reported by The Guardian (2007), Michael Jackson came to own the rights to Eminem's back catalogue after his partnership company Sony/ATV purchased the publishing company Famous Music for $370 million.

That meant Jackson became the owner of all of Eminem’s music publishing rights.

Every time Eminem’s songs were played, streamed, or licensed, a portion of the profits went to the very man he had publicly ridiculed. While it was never explicitly said that Michael Jackson's purchase had anything to do with revenge, once the rumour mill started, no one could stop it.The deal also gave Jackson ownership of tracks by artists such as Björk, Shakira, and Beck. It was a stunning power move, one that reminded everyone of Jackson’s sharp business instincts.

After all, he had famously outbid Sir Paul McCartney in 1985 for The Beatles’ back catalogue.Interestingly, despite the control he gained, Jackson never sought to censor or alter Eminem’s work. For nearly a decade, he quietly profited from the rapper’s success, letting his silence speak louder than any response ever could.After Jackson’s passing in 2009, Eminem eventually regained his publishing rights in 2016.