The lore behind *that* viral Michael Jackson impersonator taking over TikTok right now

For the past month, TikTok has been dominated by viral Michael Jackson impersonator videos. It all started when a video of a Michael Jackson tribute artist performing at a birthday party went viral. He dramatically slides across the hall on his knees, staring straight ahed. The uncomfortably long pause and the sound of horrified screams complete the video.

@morganseye

Nope never again 😭😵‍💫😵‍💫 #michaeljackson #love #halloween

♬ original sound – Morganseye

Multiple videos of the impersonator started taking over my For You page, including this video of him in a weird animal mask, scaring away guests at a party. But surprisingly, this isn’t some horror interpretation of the King of Pop.

@cheer.chi

#doryou

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The man behind the videos is Rico, a Michael Jackson tribute artist based in Chicago. He’s been impersonating MJ for over 25 years, and describes himself as the “world’s greatest Michael Jackson tribute artist”. Rico responded to the trend of people impersonating his signature knee slide with a rare speaking video.

“I’ve seen a lot of people online trying to perfect my Rico MJ slide,” he said. “You know, there’s an art to that. You just gotta hope you stop.”

@ricomj75

Art of the MJ Knee Slide

♬ original sound – RicoMJ

The videos seem to be triggering a lot of people’s Michaelphobia. Loads of people on TikTok have spoken about their hilarious irrational fear of Michael Jackson. One person claimed that as a child they would have nightmares about him, and there are several videos of adults freaking out over Michael Jackson impersonators.

People online are really confused about why Rico keeps getting booked – there seems to be a new video on the timeline every day of him at another event, terrorising the attendees. But it’s clear his clients love him, he has 43 glowing reviews on GigSalad.

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“Good energy., very professional  and very nice person. Had everyones dancing, overall was a very good performance,” said one review from late last year.

“Rico was very engaging and moved through the crowd throughout the night,” said another review from this month. “He performed all the MJ classics and everyone had a blast.”

With reviews this positive, it’s hard to deny his claim as the greatest MJ impersonator – terrifying makeup and all.

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Featured image by: Rico MJ Hampton on Facebook/419.pressy on TikTok