Michael Jackson's battle against Sony Music executives explored as Candace Owens claims Justin Bieber is in a similar situation as the King of Pop

Political commentator Candace Owens recently claimed that singer Justin Bieber is allegedly facing issues with music executives. She further alleged that the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, had similar issues with Sony Music executives.

In a recent YouTube video uploaded on her channel on April 11, Candace Owens opened up about Justin Bieber.

“I'm told that Justin Bieber, just like Michael Jackson, is engaged in a war against musical executives. Except the musical executives have gotten smarter over time. He wants out of Hollywood… It is the same war which was fought by Michael Jackson,” she claimed.

Explaining MJ’s battle with Sony, Candace Owens continued:

“[Michael Jackson] was taking on Sony. He was going after the hand that feeds him. And when you look into John Branca, in 2003, Jackson fired Branca because he was siphoning money out of Jackson's accounts in collusion with Sony Music CEO.. and funneling it through a bunch of offshore accounts in the Caribbean.”

For context, Sony began attempting to control Michael Jackson and his work in 1997, leading to the first disputes between the two parties.

Early in the new decade, the musician sought to regain the rights to his songs. However, the label extended the copyright, preventing him from having complete control over his songs.

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Candace Owens sheds light on Michael Jackson and Justin Bieber's issues with their respective music labels

Talking about Michael Jackson and providing context to the whole thing, Candace Owens said:

“I promise you, this is all very relevant to Justin Bieber. It began for Michael Jackson in 2003, when a boy named Gavin Arvizo accused Michael of child abuse, saying that he was under 14 at the time of the alleged crime.”

She continued:

“The singer was then charged with seven counts of child s*xual abuse, and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent… Michael Jackson, we were told, was a drug addict that was caught on a recording by his doctor.”

For context, as per the Los Angeles Times’s August 27, 1993 report, Jackson was under investigation by the LAPD for allegedly m*lesting four children, including a 13-year-old kid, Gavin Arvizo.

However, neither Jackson's Neverland ranch nor his Los Angeles condominium contained any incriminating evidence against him. Additionally, another 13-year-old’s family reported similar allegations.

Meanwhile, further stating her point, Candace Owens continued talking about MJ’s issues with Sony:

“In [a song] recording, Michael [allegedly] referred to Jews as leeches. Then the media labeled him worldwide as anti-Semitic. He'd never been called that before. It was also revealed that Michael had an enemy list of which Tommy Matola appeared.”

For context, according to reports, the company attempted to regulate his music. As a result of this conflict of interest, Michael decided it was time to leave the label to handle things independently and avoid giving them a larger portion of the profits.

According to Medium's March 31, 2025 report, he released the album Invincible in 2001, while waiting for his contract with Sony to end. He, therefore, looked for a way to terminate the contract earlier and informed Tommy Mottola, Sony's CEO at the time.

Meanwhile, Candace Owens also claimed that Justin is reportedly facing similar issues with his music executives. For the unphased, TMZ reported on October 23 that Bieber is reportedly thinking about suing his former financial managers for mishandling his funds.

The Peaches singer has reportedly been furious for a number of years because he feels that his management's choices have cost him a lot of money.

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Meanwhile, neither Bieber, nor his representatives have said anything officially regarding his alleged issues with his music company.