In the world of music, Prince and Michael Jackson were legendary figures and reportedly fierce rivals…just ask Quincy Jones. And despite the public’s anticipation for a collabo’ between the two icons, it never came to fruition.

But why did Prince continuously reject the opportunity to work with the King of Music on his hit song “Bad”? The answer is both intriguing and revealing.

While the 1980s seemed destined to be colored purple with Prince’s rise to fame, he couldn’t bring himself to compromise his credibility by joining forces with Jackson on a track that he perceived as having a “cheesy narrative.”

Quincy Jones, a mutual connection between the two artists, attempted to bring them together for “Bad,” but Prince refused. He was well aware of the song’s future success, but ultimately dismissed it, stating, “You don’t need me on this, it’s going to be a number one anyway”:

“We invited [Prince] out to Michael’s house to sing on ‘Bad’, and he was very intelligent about it,” Quincy Jones explained in a prior interview. “Prince was always competing with Michael. So I told Michael, ‘you sit there and Prince sits there, so it won’t look like we’re ganging up on him to do the record’. It was a beautiful meeting, a funny meeting, and [Prince] said ‘you don’t need me on this, it’s going to be a number one anyway’ – which it was.”

A direct quote from Prince sheds light on his perspective, as he shared with comedian Chris Rock, “That Wesley Snipes character [in Michael Jackson’s “Bad” video]? That would have been me. Now you run that video in your mind.” Clearly, Prince objected to the opening line of the song, “your butt is mine,” and questioned who would sing it to whom. This fundamental disagreement created a bit of a hurdle:

“The first line of that song is ‘your butt is mine,’ Prince explained to Chris. “Now I’m saying, ‘Who’s gonna sing that to whom? Cuz you sure ain’t singing it to me, and I sure ain’t singing it to you.’ So right there, we got a problem,” he continued.

The rivalry between Prince and Michael Jackson was never personal; it was purely a professional competition. Both artists were driven by their creative ambitions and constantly sought to outdo each other. In the end, “Bad” went on to sell 35 million records, solidifying Jackson’s international success, while Prince maintained his artistic integrity.

While fans can only imagine the magic that could have been created through a collaboration between these two music giants, it was ultimately Prince’s refusal to compromise that kept him true to himself.