Macaulay Culkin seems like a pretty cool guy. His breakout role in Home Alone, filmed when he was nine, made him an instant global star. A very weird childhood and adolescence followed though, including conflict within his family, an arrest for misdemeanour drug use and a high-profile friendship with Michael Jackson.
With the child abuse allegations against Jackson now known by all, many have asked Culkin whether he was also a victim. After all, during Jackson’s 2005 trial for sexual child abuse, the actor testified that they’d slept in the same bed together when he was younger.
Now, in a new interview with Esquire, he’s been asked once again, and here’s what he said:
“I’m gonna begin with the line — it’s not a line, it’s the truth — he never did anything to me. I never saw him do anything. And especially at this flashpoint in time, I’d have no reason to hold anything back. The guy has passed on. If anything–I’m not gonna say it would be stylish or anything like that–but right now is a good time to speak up. And if I had something to speak up about, I would totally do it. But no, I never saw anything; he never did anything.”
The interview also touched upon Culkin’s relationship with drugs and alcohol over the years, with the actor saying:
“I played with some fire, I guess is the best way to put it. At the same time, I’ve never been to rehab or anything like that. I’ve never had to clean out that way. There were certain times when I had to catch myself, once or twice. You’re having too good a time, Mack. I mean, I’ve had friends who ask me, ‘How do I get clean?’ And I go, I’m the last person you should ask, because I’m gonna give you the worst advice, which is: Just stop. Just stop! And that’s not the way it works. But I never went so far down that road where I needed outside help.”
And, in a refreshing twist, Culkin hasn’t turned into some kind of puritan about his partying days, explaining:
“I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I hadn’t had drugs in my life at some point or another. I had some illuminating experiences—but also it’s fuckin’ stupid, too, you know? So besides the occasional muscle relaxer, no, I don’t do drugs recreationally. I still kinda drink like a fish. I drink and I smoke. But I don’t touch the things. I do love them. They’re like old friends. But sometimes you outgrow your friends.”
I’ve had a soft spot for latter-day Culkin ever since he launched his art project The Pizza Underground, which parodied songs by the Velvet Underground with pizza-themed lyrics. They broke up after being drenched with beer from unhappy English music fans during a gig, but I’ve always admired the chutzpah of going on an international tour based on such a bizarre concept. Anyway, I’m glad to hear that Macaulay Culkin is doing alright and I’m obviously happy that Michael Jackson never molested him.