Aaron Carter Explains What He Meant When He Said Michael Jackson ‘Passed Down The Torch’ To Him

Aaron Carter took a lot of flack last fall when he said Michael Jackson “passed down the torch” to him, and nearly seven years after the King of Pop’s death, Carter is still trying to get fans to understand what he meant. In an interview with Us Weekly, Aaron said Michael Jackson was a close friend to him, and that the Thriller singer used those words himself when speaking about their friendship years before his death.

In the interview, Aaron, 28, revealed that he and Jackson have “been through some crazy stuff,” and he joked that Michael liked to talk his ear off. Carter also slammed trash talkers, saying his late pal was an amazing person.

“Michael was an amazing man. All the people who ever said anything about him are just all full of crap. I was there with Michael and I know him. I know his true colors.”

During the interview, Carter got defensive of his friendship with the pop music icon, and he specifically brought up his controversial “pass down the torch” comment that he tweeted—then deleted—last fall.

“I got so much hate when I said that Michael Jackson passed the torch to me. You guys realize that I have his jacket. I have his glove. I have lots of things from him — memorabilia that I would never even tell you about that’s sitting in a vault right now.”

But Aaron added that the material things weren’t what he was referring to when he talked about the torch passing.

“Michael passed the torch to me about love.”

Aaron Carter’s friendship with Michael Jackson began when he was starting out as a young pop singer, and because they were both child superstars, they clearly had a lot in common. Not only did Carter regularly hang out with Jackson at his famous Neverland Ranch, but he performed at the King of Pop’s 30th Anniversary Celebration concert at Madison Square Garden in 2001.

@aaroncarter @nickcarter I love #MichaelJackson 'You are not alone' #MJ pic.twitter.com/tjaBrkWC30

— Noridale Ciardella (@Ciardale) December 2, 2015

But last November, Carter’s connection to Jackson was called into question after he posted a series of bizarre tweets about their friendship. Aaron deleted the original tweet, but Billboard posted the full thread, in which Carter faced off against cyber bullies after he made the questionable statement. After Aaron Carter posted that Jackson “passed down the torch” to him, he went on to explain that the two of them “connected” because they were “the only ones of [their] kind.” Carter was likely referring to their mutual starts in the music business at a young age, and their eventual status as teen idols.

After internet bullies called Carter out for comparing himself to Jackson, he vehemently defended his stance, and then added that it was actually Michael who used the words, not him.

Aaron also added that Michael—whom he referred to as Dookie—physically passed him his iconic jacket and glove. Not exactly a torch, but some pretty cool keepsakes either way.

Hopefully, Aaron Carter got his point across this time. The singer’s upcoming album LØVË is his first studio recording in 14 years, so he was literally a teen idol last time he dropped a record. Aaron Carter’s album is set to be released sometime in late 2016.

Take a look at the video below to see Aaron Carter performing his hit song “Candy” at Jackson’s 30th anniversary concert.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeOEt2g0lU0

[Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for GBK Productions]