In the recent years  emphasis had shifted from Michael’s music to the way he looked and, of course, behaved. The world saw a nice-looking, young, black man slowly being transformed into a white woman!! And many joked that such bizarre behavior could only occur in America!

But  how did the oh-so-black MJ become white with years?

 Many blamed it on his obsession for Caucasian features (which explained why his nose resembled Pinocchio’s on a bad day!) and a fair skin. The net result was a striking resemblance to a stylish (if-u- please) ghoul!

MJ was a remarkably talented man…. ‘one-in-a-century’ kind… and hence it becomes a necessity to educate the ignorant on the root cause of his ‘white’ skin…before more blasphemies are uttered.

 MJ suffered from a little known skin condition  known as  vitiligo which destroys the  melanin – producing cells, the melanocytes, causing de- pigmentation.  The condition occurs in all races, but is definitely more visible in people with colored skin .

The net result is that the affected have botchy patches of white on their skin, rendering it an ungainly appearance.

If the patches of white are few then it can be camouflaged with brown make-up. But MJ had 80% or more of de-pigmented areas and hence he chose to make the remaining brown patches white. Little do people know that ‘the king of pop’ had this condition even during his ‘bad’ and ‘thriller’ days.

The causes are not clearly understood but a lot of experts believe that stress could trigger the onset of this condition. We have all heard of MJ’s childhood abuse and his statements on  lost childhood, haven’t we!
Vitiligo makes the sufferer sensitive to the sun (that explains the umbrella) and   often occurs alongside other autoimmune disorders. It therefore comes as no surprise that MJ  suffered from lupus, an auto immune condition that has the potential to be  fatal.

Vitiligo is definitely not a life- threatening condition but it can be a blow to the self-esteem of a person, especially for one who loved the spotlight and swore by it,  like our late pop king !

It saddens me to think of Michael Jackson……  it is easy to see why he had to take ‘pain’ killers!

Although Michael Jackson succumbed to the ‘panacea’ he took for the internal and external pain attributed directly or indirectly to these little known conditions, they in turn, stand to gain from their celebrity victim!

Dr.Reeja Tharu

Related Links

1. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

2. Vitiligo (leukoderma) skin disorder treatment