Lionel Richie Spills on Michael Jackson’s “Smelly” Bad Hygiene Nickname
Written by b87fm on 10/01/2025
Lionel Richie is pulling back the curtain on his longtime friendship with the King of Pop—and the stories are wild. In his new memoir Truly, Richie reveals that Quincy Jones used to clown Michael Jackson with the nickname “Smelly.”
According to Richie, it wasn’t about Michael’s cologne or dance moves—it was about the fact that he sometimes went days without changing clothes.
“Michael would laugh too, realizing that he was oblivious to the fact that he hadn’t changed or washed his clothes for a couple of days or so,” Richie wrote. “We all have our quirks.”
Richie said Michael’s daily life was far from glamorous:
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On stage, he rocked elaborate costumes from his stylists.
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In the studio, he’d pull up in pajama bottoms and slippers.
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At home, he’d lounge in whatever was comfortable enough to dance in—or hang out with his zoo of pets.
And sometimes, that “whatever” meant funky jeans that were either too short or sagging off him. When Richie once asked where the pants came from, Jackson casually told him:
“Lionel, I walked by a store in the Valley. The owner came out and gave me a free pair.”
Despite the quirks, Richie called Michael a musical genius, a savant who could pick apart 15 versions of a single track like it was nothing. But outside the music?
“In his daily coming and going, that kid was winging it every minute,” Richie said.
Richie’s new memoir, “Truly,” hit shelves on Tuesday.
