--- title: UCLA Gymnast Removes Michael Jackson From Routine After Doc description: UCLA gymnast Katelyn Ohashi has decided to remove a song featuring Michael Jackson from her routine, following 'Leaving Neverland'. canonical: https://time.com/5556925/katelyn-ohashi-removes-michael-jackson-music-from-routine/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-03-22T16:01:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:58:17.008Z og:title: UCLA Gymnast Removes Michael Jackson From Routine After Doc og:description: "My main goal is to find as much joy as possible in this routine" og:url: https://time.com/5556925/katelyn-ohashi-removes-michael-jackson-music-from-routine/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ff74265acd27fb9/6989472522fb854f71e27fb3/katelyn-ohashi-removes-michael-jackson-movie-from-routine.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: COLLEGE GYMNASTICS: JAN 21 Arizona State at UCLA og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: UCLA Gymnast Removes Michael Jackson From Routine After Doc twitter:description: "My main goal is to find as much joy as possible in this routine" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ff74265acd27fb9/6989472522fb854f71e27fb3/katelyn-ohashi-removes-michael-jackson-movie-from-routine.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # UCLA Gymnast Speaks Out About Cutting the Michael Jackson Music From the Floor Routine That Made Her a Star  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Mar 22, 2019 4:01 PM UTC  LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 21: UCLA Bruins' Katelyn Ohashi competes on floor during an NCAA college gymnastics meet against Arizona State Sun Devils in Los Angeles Monday, Jan. 21, 2019\. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 21: UCLA Bruins' Katelyn Ohashi competes on floor during an NCAA college gymnastics meet against Arizona State Sun Devils in Los Angeles Monday, Jan. 21, 2019\. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Icon Sportswire—Icon Sportswire via Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Mar 22, 2019 4:01 PM UTC UCLA gymnast current reigning floor routine national champion [Katelyn Ohashi](http://time.com/5501936/katelyn-ohashi-story/) is removing Michael Jackson’s music and dance move inspired by the entertainer from the routine that earned her five perfect scores and made her [a viral sensation.](http://time.com/4692362/beyonce-gymnastic-routine/) Ohashi, who’s become known for her crowd-rousing choreography and endless enthusiasm on the floor, will be debuting a new routine this Saturday at the Pac-12 championships with a brand-new routine that centers on women’s empowerment, with music by Tina Turner, Beyoncé and Janet Jackson. In an interview with [_ESPN W_](http://www.espn.com/espnw/sports/article/26322939/ucla-gymnast-katelyn-ohashi-new-floor-routine-viral-star-removes-michael-jackson-music-leaving-neverland)_,_ Ohashi shared that she felt conflicted using Michael Jackson’s music and dance moves following the release of _Leaving Neverland_, the HBO documentary that examines Jackson’s alleged sexual abuse of children. “The goal of my routine is pure joy, and after the documentary, not everyone was feeling that way, and you can never discredit someone’s feelings,” Ohashi said. “So yes, it was in the back of my mind because my main goal is to find as much joy as possible in this routine.” Ohashi said that it was intentional that she selected all female artists for her new music mix, noting that she hoped her fans would see her new routine in the greater context of what was happening in the world. “I hope they can remember how I speak openly about a lot of the issues that are close to my heart,” Ohashi said. “I think I have a passionate heart about women’s empowerment, and I am very compassionate towards people who have spoken out. And I hope that by changing my routine, I can be remembered for being more than a gymnast. It’s about understanding issues and having a bigger platform than just the sport.” See a sneak peek of Katelyn Ohashi’s new routine below. > [](https://twitter.com/uclagymnastics/status/1109093903578218497) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5556925/katelyn-ohashi-removes-michael-jackson-music-from-routine/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5556925/katelyn-ohashi-removes-michael-jackson-music-from-routine/"},"headline":"UCLA Gymnast Speaks Out About Cutting the Michael Jackson Music From the Floor Routine That Made Her a Star","datePublished":"2019-03-22T16:01:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:58:17.008Z","description":"\"My main goal is to find as much joy as possible in this routine\"","url":"https://time.com/5556925/katelyn-ohashi-removes-michael-jackson-music-from-routine/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","onetime","Sports"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ff74265acd27fb9/6989472522fb854f71e27fb3/katelyn-ohashi-removes-michael-jackson-movie-from-routine.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ff74265acd27fb9/6989472522fb854f71e27fb3/katelyn-ohashi-removes-michael-jackson-movie-from-routine.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"COLLEGE GYMNASTICS: JAN 21 Arizona State at UCLA","caption":"COLLEGE GYMNASTICS: JAN 21 Arizona State at UCLA","creditText":"Icon Sportswire—Icon Sportswire via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5556925/katelyn-ohashi-removes-michael-jackson-music-from-routine/","name":"UCLA Gymnast Speaks Out About Cutting the Michael Jackson Music From the Floor Routine That Made Her a Star"}}]}] ```