"Leave Me Alone" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his seventh studio album, Bad (1987).

"Leave Me Alone" was a response to negative rumors about Jackson that frequently appeared in the tabloids post-1985 after the success of Thriller.

"[3][4] These stories inspired the derogatory nickname "Wacko Jacko", which was pinned on Jackson in 1986.

[7] In 2009, J. Edward Keyes, of Rolling Stone, described "Leave Me Alone" as sounding like "vintage Michael" and the song works because of its music, "a batch of thick chords for Jackson to vamp over".

[10] According to MusicNotes.com, the song is set in the key of E♭ minor with Jackson's voice range being sung from B♭3 to A♭5.

In a retrospective assessment, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, a writer for AllMusic, stated he felt that "Leave Me Alone" was the best track on Bad, commenting "why are all of his best songs paranoid anthems?

"[6] Steve Morse, a writer for The Boston Globe, described "Leave Me Alone" as a "send-up" of Jackson's feuds with the "paparazzi-filled tabloids.

"[13] Jon Pareles, of The New York Times, commented that "Leave Me Alone" had an "unmistakable message".

The song, similar to Bad's previous singles, proved to be a commercial success internationally.

[19] In essence, the video is an amusement park consisting of stylistically crude images based around Jackson's successful career since 1982's Thriller.

There is an emphasis on the tabloid view of Jackson's personal life and public image, referring to the nickname "Wacko Jacko" given to him by the press, and the various headlines associated with him in the 1980s.

[20] In the video, there are images of shrines to actress Elizabeth Taylor, a real life close friend of Jackson.

Another notable scene in the music video was a nose being chased by a surgical scalpel, which was a reference to Jackson's plastic surgeries being scrutinized by the media.

[24] The winners were respectively: Neil Young's "This Note's for You" ("Video of the Year"), Art of Noise's "Kiss" ("Breakthrough Video"), Paula Abdul's "Straight Up" ("Best Editing"), and Madonna's "Express Yourself" ("Best Cinematography", "Best Art Direction") and "Like a Prayer" ("Viewers' Choice").