Michael Jackson couldn't trust his bodyguards until a martial artist aced his $1.3 million test
While most would have folded, Fiddes did not seem to care about money or celebrity fame at all
While most of us saw Michael Jackson as the King of Pop, someone who had it all, back in the early 2000s, he was struggling. The world-renowned artist was living a life of suffocation and was facing financial distress. And so, he was forced to rely upon commercial protection firms in front of whom he couldn't even pick up the phone. It was after seeing all this that Matt Fiddes, who had known Jackson for a few years and was a martial arts expert, decided to help him out. However, having been betrayed throughout his life, MJ couldn't accept loyalty blindly. What followed is perhaps one of the biggest loyalty tests, as Fiddes narrated it to @TheArtOfDialogue on May 19, 2026, garnering over 80,000 views.
The origin of their friendship
It all started when Fiddes, who was a self-made millionaire himself, met Jackson through his mentor. The two hit it off immediately and became good friends. A year into the friendship, Fiddes could see Jackson struggling. So, given his martial arts background, he decided to step in as his personal security, that too, without any money, as he didn't need any. As surprising as it may sound, he claims that was what made their bond even stronger. While he did agree to hire him, the pop star had his doubts, and rightfully so. After all, Jackson couldn't blindly trust someone who didn't even need money for the job he was doing, especially in the brutal world of the music industry.
Jackson's loyalty test
Fast forward to about three years into their friendship, Fiddes got a call from an unknown number. He picked up the call, and on the other end was a man claiming to be a reporter from "The News of the World" tabloid, which had been after Jackson for some time. The reporter had a simple request from Fiddes: he wanted him to click pictures of his kids, Prince and Paris Jackson, without the masks. In exchange for these, the reporter was ready to give him a staggering $1.3 million.
While most would've folded then and there, Fiddes didn't care for the money. Not only did he decline the offer, but he also scolded the reporter and hung up. He then immediately called Jackson to warn him, but couldn't connect for some reason. Nonetheless, a few days later, he finally got hold of Jackson and told him the story. But to his surprise, the superstar wasn't worried but rather started crying. "Thanks, man, I really appreciate that," Jackson said. Of course, this felt strange to Fiddes, and so he asked him what it meant. It was then that Jackson revealed that it was he who called Fiddes as the reporter to test his loyalty, further revealing that he did so for all his staff, even going so far as to mask his own voice so they wouldn't know.
This paparazzi move was a reality
Although this turned out to be a loyalty test, back in the 2000s, paparazzi used to sell their pictures to media outlets, and these years were called the "gold rush years" as almost 20% to 70% of their income came from the royalties of these pictures they sold. That said, getting a picture as valuable as Jackson's kid was really worth that much money, if anything, even more. According to Britannica, back then, a paparazzo made anywhere between $5,000 and $15,000 for a normal celebrity picture.
We salute you, Fiddes
Regardless, the fans were thrilled to hear this story from Jackson's bodyguard as they took comments to give their thoughts. @ANTONIO102-u5k wrote, "You don't see people like Mr Fiddes anymore, honorable, loyal, and appreciative. There's a reason why MJ trusted him; to this day, he's still loyal to Michael Jackson." Meanwhile, @MrJess-el8ku said, "Matt Fiddes, I salute you, Sir. Thank you for literally having our legendary brother Michael Jackson's back, true definition of a dear friend, just like Chris Tucker was."
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