DJ reflects on teenage night with Jackson as abuse allegations force him to re-examine events

Mark Ronson has revealed how allegations of abuse against Michael Jackson have forced him to revisit memories of his teenage friendship with the pop icon.

The British-American DJ and producer, now 50, said he was only 13 when he first met Jackson through Sean Lennon, the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Their introduction led to a surreal after-party with dozens of people in the late singer’s hotel room – a moment that seemed light-hearted at the time but has since taken on a darker resonance.

Speaking in excerpts from his new book, Ronson described how he has repeatedly revisited that night in his mind since new allegations of sexual abuse emerged in recent years. “Of course I put it back through that lens a hundred times,” he admitted. “I was like, for whatever reason, there was nothing weird or untoward on that night.”

Ronson insisted nothing inappropriate ever happened between him and Jackson. Yet, he confessed that some of the memories sound stranger when recounted decades later.

He recalled how Jackson spent much of the evening hurling soggy wads of toilet paper at parked cars from his hotel window. “It’s so crazy to say it out loud,” Ronson said, adding that as a budding musician, he had only been focused on trying to glean creative inspiration.

“I wanted to get a cool hook from Michael Jackson to take back,” Ronson explained. “Like, ‘You guys go play and run around like kids, I am going to use this Michael Jackson meeting to like get something, get a song out of it.’”

The accounts appear in the wake of ongoing scrutiny of Jackson’s legacy. Since his death in 2009, the late star has faced repeated allegations of sexually abusing children. These accusations were given renewed visibility through the documentary Leaving Neverland 2, in which Wade Robson and James Safechuck claimed Jackson groomed and assaulted them as children. Both men have filed lawsuits against MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, companies linked to Jackson’s estate, alleging they enabled the singer’s behaviour.

Jackson, who died aged 50, always denied wrongdoing and fought allegations during his lifetime. He was acquitted in a 2005 trial of child molestation charges. However, the continuing legal battles and documentaries have led many to revisit their own encounters with the singer.

For Ronson, the re-examination has been both personal and professional. He stressed that the teenage experience did not involve any inappropriate conduct, yet admitted the strangeness of the memory has grown sharper with hindsight.

The producer, whose career has included Grammy and Academy Award wins, has built a reputation for collaborating with some of the world’s biggest artists, including Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse, and Adele. Yet his teenage brush with Jackson has remained an unusual chapter in his story – one that has gained unexpected weight as public perceptions of the singer continue to shift.

Ronson said he has no doubts about what occurred during that night in the hotel room: “For whatever reason, there was nothing untoward. But of course I’ve thought about it a hundred times since.”

His candour highlights the lingering unease surrounding Jackson’s legacy. For those who crossed paths with him, what once seemed like harmless eccentricity can appear unsettling when filtered through the light of accusations.

As Ronson reflects in his book, what remains is not scandal or shame, but a complicated memory – one that he has been forced to interrogate as the world continues to debate who Michael Jackson really was