Title: Former Vanity Fair Editor’s Memoir Reveals Michael Jackson’s Outrageous Request, Late Queen Encounter, and Tom Cruise’s Bizarre Christmas Gift in Candid Showbiz Stories

Graydon Carter’s Memoir Reveals Hollywood’s Wildest Tales
[Image: Graydon Carter, former Vanity Fair editor, reflecting on his career]

Graydon Carter, Vanity Fair’s editor from 1992 to 2017, spills decades of celebrity secrets in his new memoir, When the Going Was Good. The book captures the extravagant era of print media’s heyday, when unlimited budgets fueled globe-trotting journalism and A-list access. Carter, now 75, shares jaw-dropping stories about icons like Michael Jackson, Tom Cruise, and even royalty.

Michael Jackson’s Quest for a Knighthood
One of the book’s wildest tales involves Michael Jackson’s obsession with being knighted. Carter recalls talent manager Sandy Gallin frantically trying to fulfill Jackson’s demand for a live TV special where the Queen would knight him flanked by Liza Minnelli and Elizabeth Taylor. A young British aristocrat on Gallin’s team was tasked with contacting the Queen—a doomed effort Carter called “nuts.” Jackson, who envied honorary knights like Steven Spielberg, often ranted, “I’m the biggest star in the world—why aren’t I Sir Michael Jackson?”

[Image: The 1990s—a golden age for magazines, with Carter at the helm]

Tom Cruise’s Scientology “Gift”
Carter also details Tom Cruise’s peculiar Christmas present: a plexiglass display of Scientology tenets, including “To increase the numbers and strength of Scientology.” Carter jokingly displayed it in his home, leading friends to suspect he’d joined the church. At a charity dinner, Carter and his wife found themselves seated with Scientology leader David Miscavige, though no recruitment followed. “They were pleasant, thankfully,” Carter writes.

[Image: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes with Carter at a Vanity Fair Oscar party]

Harvey Weinstein’s Oscar Party Ban
The memoir doesn’t shy from darker figures. Harvey Weinstein was banned from Vanity Fair’s Oscar parties after berating staff. Carter warned Weinstein after repeated incidents: “If you’re rude again, you’re barred forever.” The producer later confronted Carter at a restaurant, threatening to expose “drugs and sex” at Carter’s former magazine, Spy—a claim Carter called absurd. The clash ended with Weinstein backtracking to impress his dinner guests.

[Image: Harvey Weinstein at a Vanity Fair event before his fall]

Philip Green’s Dinner Disaster
Topshop tycoon Philip Green also earned a lifetime ban. After crashing a Vanity Fair dinner, Green insulted the seating chart and wine, demanding his own bottle. Staff retaliated by charging his credit card for the priciest option. “Who you don’t invite matters as much as who you do,” Carter notes.

Princess Margaret’s Never-Ending Night
A royal lowlight involved Princess Margaret, whom Carter hosted in New York. Guests were forbidden to leave before her—a rule tested as she chain-smoked and drank past midnight. “People panicked,” Carter writes. When Margaret finally left at 12:15 a.m., relief swept the room “like survivors of a plane landing.”

[Image: Princess Margaret and the Queen, circa 1980]

A Bygone Era of Excess
Carter’s memoir immortalizes a time when magazine budgets seemed endless, and star power ruled. From Jackson’s delusions of grandeur to Cruise’s proselytizing, When the Going Was Good offers a wry, nostalgic glimpse into media’s last golden age.

When the Going Was Good is available now.

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