In his new memoir, Lionel Richie recounts a startling anecdote about his longtime friend Michael Jackson, revealing that legendary producer Quincy Jones gave the pop icon the unflattering nickname "Smelly" because of persistent body odor, a detail that paints a more human — and imperfect — portrait of one of music's biggest stars.
According to Mirror, Richie's memoir, Truly, released Sept. 30, chronicles his decades-long career from his early days with the Commodores to solo superstardom and his tenure as a judge on "American Idol." It also offers personal reminiscences about his relationships with other music icons, including Jackson and Jones, who produced several of Jackson's most celebrated albums.
In a passage detailing Jackson's offstage life, Richie says Jones, who died in November 2024 at 91, coined the nickname after noticing what he described as an unpleasant smell emanating from Jackson on multiple occasions. Richie said Jackson accepted the name in stride and often laughed about the observations.
"Michael took it well after 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, according to excerpts provided to The Associated Press. Richie added that Jackson "got into the habit of wearing the same pants until they were unwearable."
Richie, 76, contextualized the issue as a byproduct of Jackson's grueling schedule and extraordinary fame. As per PageSix, he said the singer was constantly touring, rarely able to stop for everyday errands such as visiting a dry cleaner — which, Richie argued, would have been complicated by fans and onlookers eager to take souvenirs — and often resorted to wearing the same garments between shows.
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Richie mentioned that one day he saw Jackson "smelling particularly unkempt" and decided to take him to his home so he could shower. He also gave him a pair of jeans and clean underwear to change into.
The anecdote, while causing a stir online and in tabloid headlines, is presented in the memoir as part of a larger portrait of Jackson's eccentric, childlike persona. Richie described Jackson as "an absent-minded professor but still a kid," someone who, despite his global fame and creative genius, could be forgetful about everyday matters.
Richie and Jackson's friendship dates to the 1970s when the Commodores opened for the Jackson 5. They later collaborated on the charity single "We Are the World" in 1985, and Richie became godfather to his daughter, Nicole.
Jackson's public image has faced a lot of attention and speculation. This ranges from his unmatched artistic accomplishments to his controversial personal issues. Richie's account adds another, more mundane detail to the landscape of stories that have sought to explain the complicated life of the singer who died in 2009.
Representatives for the estates of Jackson and Jones did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Quincy Jones' death last year prompted an outpouring of tributes from across the music world; Richie's memoir includes reflections on their decades of collaboration and friendship.
While the "Smelly" anecdote may strike some as tabloid fodder, Richie frames it as an intimate moment of friendship — one person helping another through a small but humanizing lapse at the height of one of pop music's most extraordinary careers.
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