He was known for partying hard and touring the globe as Michael Jackson’s sidekick but now Bubbles the chimpanzee is living a quiet retirement in Florida.
As he approaches his 43rd birthday in April, he is a shadow of his former self from his nights of partying with Bon Jovi and now lives out his days at the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Florida, where he loves nothing more than an early night.
Patti Ragan, the center’s founder, shared recent photos of Bubbles with Daily Mail this week and said: ‘Bubbles is aging gracefully.
‘Bubbles takes naps in the afternoon, and usually makes his nest for the night by 6pm sleeping until early morning.’
She said when he’s not sleeping or eating, he likes to watch Disney’s Chimpanzee movie and paint.
‘But his favorite activity is hanging out with his chimp friends as they enjoy meals together,’ Ragan said.
‘His days are spent with his long-time chimpanzee family (Oopsie, Boma, Kodua, & Stryker).’
The chimp, who is around 50 in human years, spends his days getting groomed by Oopsie and Kodua in the mornings and strolling around the sanctuary’s aerial trailways to see other chimps and caretakers throughout the day, she said.
Bubbles has been at the sanctuary since 2005, after he was deemed ‘no longer suitable for life around people,’ the center said.
The 185lb chimp is the leader of the pack at the attraction, which is not open to the public, and has a ‘calm and artistic presence.’
He has been described as ‘shy and private’ despite his once very public life and spends a lot of his time creating ‘colorful works of art.’
‘He only hands over the canvas when he’s truly finished, and his expressive style sometimes goes beyond the borders!’ the center said on its website.
Jackson got Bubbles in 1983 when the chimp was just eight months old. Bubbles slept in a crib inside the singer’s room and was often seen wearing human clothes.
At age four, Bubbles traveled to Japan with the King of Pop, and even appeared in some of Jackson’s music videos.
Jon Bon Jovi recalled partying with the chimp at a hotel in Tokyo in the 1980s to Jimmy Kimmel in a 2024 interview.
‘Bubbles comes down and wreaks havoc. Bubbles parties like a rock star,’ Jon Bon Jovi told Kimmel.
Somewhat baffled, Kimmel asked, ‘Wait, how did Bubbles arrive? So Bubbles was in your room loose?’ for which Jon Bon Jovi confirmed, ‘Oh yea.’
He explained how Bubbles was ‘jumping on the bed’ and ‘putting on a show.’
The Bad Medicine singer-songwriter went on to share about how Bubbles ‘hung hard.’
According to Jon Bon Jovi, Bubbles was in the room partying for quite a while. In fact, it got to the point where hotel management threatened to throw the band out of the hotel.
And it was not the first time he sparked chaos. Actress Rashida Jones, whose father Quincy produced some of Jackson’s songs, was bitten by Bubbles when she was just nine years old.
During an interview with The New Yorker in 2024 she said: ‘Sorry, I was just sighing, because I was just thinking about how I was bit by his monkey.
‘It was my fault. Well, no, it’s not my fault. I am not the one who put a chimpanzee in overalls and a diaper.’
Bubbles is housed at the same center as other famous chimps, such as Ripley, who appeared in the movies Ace Ventura and Junior.
BamBam is also there and he starred in the soap opera Nurse Precious for three seasons. He arrived to the center the same year Bubbles did.
Jackson had to let Bubbles go after he began acting aggressively, but not before he sought help from famous primatologist Jane Goodall, who died in October at the age of 91.
Goodall had visited him and she later made an accusation that Bubbles was being beaten while under the Hollywood star’s care.
Bubbles’ care at the center is funded by the Michael Jackson Estate.
It is unclear how much the estate contributes each year, but the center’s website estimated it cost $30,000 annually to care for each chimp. Daily Mail has contacted the Michael Jackson Estate for comment.
It was rumored after Jackson’s death in 2009 that Bubbles was given $2 million from the King of Pop’s will, but Ragan shut that down in 2019.
‘The truth is that Bubbles was not named in Jackson’s will,’ she wrote at the time.
Although Bubbles does not appear to be coming out of retirement for the upcoming biopic, titled Michael, it does appear the animal will make an appearance.
Actress Lilly Colucci is currently listed as playing the chimp on IMDB. The film is slated to be released in April.
