Health and appearance of Michael Jackson

Jackson is wearing sun glasses and a black sequinned jacket with gold shoulders and a golden sash running diagonally across his chest. His right hand is raised in a wave; he is wearing a white glove on it. His skin is dark
Jackson is wearing sun glasses and a black jacket with a golden metal rectangle on both sides of the collar, golden badges on both upper arms and a golden armband on his right arm under the badge. Two golden bandoliers cross his torso forming the letter "X". A third bandolier runs from his left shoulder to the bucket of his golden belt. He is frozen. His head is turned to the left. His hair is falling in his eyes and he is wearing a headset microphone. His skin is light
Michael Jackson in 1977 at age 18 (left) and 1997 at age 38 (right)

Michael Jackson was an American entertainer who spent over four decades in the public eye, first as a child star with the Jackson 5 and later as a solo artist. From the mid-1980s, Jackson's appearance began to change dramatically. The changes to his face triggered widespread speculation of extensive cosmetic surgery, and his skin tone became much lighter.[1][2]

Jackson was diagnosed with the skin disorder vitiligo, which results in white patches on the skin and sensitivity to sunlight. To treat the condition, he used fair-colored makeup[3] and likely skin-bleaching prescription creams[4] to cover up the uneven blotches of color caused by the illness. The creams would have further lightened his skin. The lighter skin resulted in criticism that he was trying to appear white.[2][5] Jackson said he had not purposely bleached his skin and that he was not trying to be anything he was not.[6]

Jackson and some of his siblings said they had been physically and psychologically abused by their father Joe Jackson. In 2003, Joe admitted to whipping them as children, but he emphatically rejected the longstanding abuse allegations.[7][8] The whippings deeply traumatized Jackson and may have led to the onset of further health problems later in his life. Physicians speculated that he had body dysmorphic disorder.[9]

At some point during the 1990s, it appeared that Jackson had become dependent on prescription drugs, mainly painkillers and strong sedatives. The drug use was later linked to second- and third-degree burns he had suffered years before. Jackson gradually became dependent on these drugs, and his health deteriorated. He went into rehabilitation in 1993.[10] While preparing for a series of comeback concerts scheduled to begin in July 2009, Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication after suffering cardiac arrest on June 25, 2009. His personal physician was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in his death and sentenced to four years in prison.

  1. ^ Taraborrelli, pp. 434–436
  2. ^ a b DeMello (2012). Faces around the World: A Cultural Encyclopedia of the Human Face. ABC-CLIO. p. 152. ISBN 978-1598846188. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  3. ^ Kolata, Gina (February 13, 1993). "Doctor Says Michael Jackson Has a Skin Disease". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  4. ^ Kreps, Daniel (March 29, 2010). "Search of Michael Jackson's Home Revealed Skin-Whitening Creams". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  5. ^ Radha Sarma Hegde (2011). Circuits of Visibility: Gender and Transnational Media Cultures. NYU Press. pp. 75–77. ISBN 978-0814744680. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  6. ^ "The Michael Jackson Interview: Oprah Reflects". The Oprah Winfrey Show. September 16, 2009. p. 3. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  7. ^ "Can Michael Jackson's demons be explained?". June 27, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2019 – via BBC News.
  8. ^ Duke, Alan (July 21, 2009). "Joe Jackson denies abusing Michael" (Press release). CNN. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  9. ^ Posner, Gerald. Deepak Chopra: How Michael Jackson Could Have Been Saved, The Daily Beast, July 2, 2009.
  10. ^ Campbell (1995), pp. 89–93