"Scream" is a song primarily directed at the tabloid press. As far back as the late 1980s, Jackson and the press had a difficult relationship. In 1986, the tabloids ran a story claiming that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow the aging process; he was pictured lying down in a glass box. When Jackson bought a pet chimpanzee called Bubbles, it was reported as evidence of increasing detachment from reality.[3] It was reported that Jackson had offered to buy the bones of Joseph Merrick (the "elephant man"). However, Jackson stated the story is untrue in both an interview with Oprah[4] and an interview with Martin Bashir in Take Two - The Footage You Were Never Meant To See. Still, these stories inspired the pejorative nickname "Wacko Jacko", which Jackson acquired the following year and would come to despise. He stopped leaking untruths to the press, so the media began making up their own stories.[3][5]
In 1989, Jackson released the song and music video "Leave Me Alone", a song about his perceived victimization at the hands of the press.[6] The video shows Jackson poking fun not only at the press but also the situation he was in. In the video, there are images of shrines to his friend Elizabeth Taylor, newspapers with bizarre headlines, Jackson dancing with the bones of The Elephant Man, and an animated nose with a scalpel chasing it across the screen.[7]
In 1993, the relationship between Jackson and the press came to a head when he was accused of child sexual abuse. Although never charged with a crime, Jackson was subject to intense media scrutiny while the criminal investigation took place. Complaints about the coverage and media included using sensational headlines to draw in readers and viewers when the content itself did not support the headline,[8] accepting stories of Jackson's alleged criminal activity in return for money,[9] accepting confidential, leaked material from the police investigation in return for money paid,[10] deliberately using pictures of Jackson's appearance at its worst,[11] a lack of objectivity[11] and using headlines that strongly implied Jackson's guilt.[11] At the time, Jackson said of the media reaction, "I will say I am particularly upset by the handling of the matter by the incredible, terrible mass media. At every opportunity, the media has dissected and manipulated these allegations to reach their own conclusions."[12]
The singer began taking painkillers, Valium, Xanax and Ativan to deal with the stress of the allegations made against him.[13] Jackson's health had deteriorated to the extent that he canceled the remainder of his tour and went into rehabilitation.[14][15] Jackson booked the whole fourth floor of a clinic and was put on Valium IV to wean him from painkillers.[14] A few months after the allegations became news, Jackson had lost approximately 10 lb (4.5 kg) in weight and had stopped eating.[15][16] The singer's spokesperson told reporters that Jackson was "barely able to function adequately on an intellectual level".[15] While in the clinic, Jackson took part in group and one-on-one therapy sessions.[14][15]
When Jackson left the U.S. to go into rehabilitation, the media showed him little sympathy. The Daily Mirror held a "Spot the Jacko" contest, offering readers a trip to Disney World if they could correctly predict where the entertainer would appear next.[14] A Daily Express headline read, "Drug Treatment Star Faces Life on the Run", while a News of the World headline accused Jackson of being a fugitive. These tabloids also falsely alleged that Jackson had traveled to Europe to have cosmetic surgery that would make him unrecognizable on his return.[14] Geraldo Rivera set up a mock trial, with a jury made up of audience members, even though Jackson had not been charged with a crime.[17]
"Scream"/"Childhood" and HIStory were Jackson's first releases since the allegations, and the press was waiting to see if the album would sell well. One analyst for SoundScan expressed the opinion that the press were out of touch with the public when it came to Jackson; the public liked him, while the press did not. He believed that "naysayers" in the media would be left surprised with the commercial reception to the HIStory campaign.[18]
In the UK, on 24 June 1995, "Scream (David Morales Remix)" was released as a single peaking at number 43, dropping to number 57 a week later. It remained on the charts for only 2 weeks.[19]