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[ZombiePlatypus]

I wasn't in America during Michael's prime so I never followed how or why he became white, and what the general reaction was from people.

I saw one snippet of an interview where he said he suffered from vitiligo, but vitiligo doesn't look like what he ended up looking like. (Unless it was the result of the treatment for it?)

I realize that this was pre-social media, but did it spurr any sort of a race discussion?

 

[UnemployedVillain]

He began skin bleaching once his vitiligo got bad rather than having patches of different colors, IIRC

 

[GaimeGuy]

I wasn't in America during Michael's prime so I never followed how or why he became white, and what the general reaction was from people.

I saw one snippet of an interview where he said he suffered from vitiligo, but vitiligo doesn't look like what what he ended up looking like. (Unless it was the result of the treatment for it?)

I realize that this was pre-social media, but did it spurr any sort of a race discussion?

I heard a rumor that he had one of those "This is what you will look like in 30 years" computer simulations done, and he ended up looking almost exactly like his father, which is why he went crazy with the plastic surgery. :X

But to answer your question about his skin in particular: He began skin bleaching.

 

[Speevy]

He was mentally ill.

 

[Reverend Funk]

He had a skin disease

 

[Kurdel]

I think it was mostly makeup.

The autopsy report described his "patchy" skin color distribution typical to someone with vitiligo.

 

[FyreWulff]

He had vitiligo, and used makeup and other products to even out his skin. Was the reason for the glove, too, since it started in his hands.

People are really, REALLY brutal to those with vitiligo, socially, especially in the 70s and 80s.

 

[andythinkpad]

He also got larger anime eyes and makeup.

So it was not just "skin disease". He went crazy on plastic surgery.

 

[psynergylover]

he was said to have Vitiligo(?)

a skin disorder that caused your skin to change to a lighter complexion

 

[Kurdel]

People are really, REALLY brutal to those with vitiligo.

Kids pointing and people asking about it must get old pretty fucking quick.

 

[kmax]

The coroner that did the autopsy on Michael confirmed that he did in fact have Vitiligo.

 

[WX3]

He shook hands with Sammy Sosa and shit went down hill from there. Or was it the other way around? I don't remember anymore.

 

[foxuzamaki]

He vitiligo he also was incredibly insecure about how he looked, he thougut himself ugly so he did things like did surgery on his nosw, which seemed like a black stereotype that got to him

 

[Fritz]

I wasn't in America during Michael's prime so I never followed how or why he became white, and what the general reaction was from people.

I saw one snippet of an interview where he said he suffered from vitiligo, but vitiligo doesn't look like what he ended up looking like. (Unless it was the result of the treatment for it?)

I realize that this was pre-social media, but did it spurr any sort of a race discussion?

You weren't in "America"? You must have been on Mars to not be able to follow the Michael Jackson rumor mill.

 

[tmarg]

You weren't in "America"? You must have been on Mars to not be able to follow the Michael Jackson rumor mill.

Believe it or not, there are places in this world with more pressing concerns than celebrity gossip.

 

[FyreWulff]

Kids pointing and people asking about it must get old pretty fucking quick.

I had a black friend with it in school, can confirm, she was fuckin' tired of the questions and pointing. Examples of vitiligo:

it progresses randomly too, so one day she woke up with a pale arm.

 

[TickleMeElbow]

If I remember correctly, medical examinations after he died confirmed he had vitiligo. He either bleached his skin to even out the blotches, or let it take over. I personally think he bleached his skin. Here's an example of someone who let it take over:

Before

After

 

[Kurdel]

Believe it or not, there are places in this world with more pressing concerns than celebrity gossip.

I grew up in Guinea West Africa and it was a local topic of conversation.

 

[AJLma]

I've heard all the excuses and reasoning over the years, and I've come to think it's probably just that he wanted to and didn't want to have to explain himself to the public. Jackson was always striving towards his own idea of "beauty".

 

[cyberheater]

It's crazy how he looked. A totally different person.

Did he have a false nose tip?

 

[UnemployedVillain]

If I remember correctly, medical examinations after he died confirmed he had vitiligo. He either bleached his skin to even out the blotches, or let it take over. I personally think he bleached his skin. Here's an example of someone who let it take over:

Before



After

Well I'd say he's "lucky" as far as people with vitiligo go. For most people it never just completely evens out, it's always just random patches

 

[Enzom21]

He was mentally ill.

No, he had vitiligo.

 

[tmarg]

No, he had vitiligo.

He was both.

 

[.JayZii]

It's crazy how he looked. A totally different person.

Did he have a false nose tip?

I believe so. So much reconstructive surgery must have left his nose without any structure of its own. It was probably collapsing. Humans are not meant to have noses so thin and pointed.

I think it's even crazier that his sister Latoya went for exactly the same look.

He was both.

Bingo.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

I dind't know about the vitiligo. All I heard was he had a skin disease. Everything makes sense now.

 

[Hoo-doo]

I thought it was common knowledge that MJ was suffering from vitiligo. Couple that with crazy insecurity and millions of dollars in the bank ready to spend on plastic surgery (maybe even a case of body dysmorphia) and it's not hard to see why his look changed so dramatically.

 

[Enzom21]

He was both.

The question was about him becoming white and that has nothing to do with mental illness.

 

[TickleMeElbow]

Well I'd say he's "lucky" as far as people with vitiligo go. For most people it never just completely evens out, it's always just random patches

Yeah in an interview he said he had an extreme case, and that grappling made it worse for some reason. He tried to get rid of it with lasers, but it hurt so bad he just let it go, and eventually it took over.

 

[Cipherr]

Vitiligo and he had some plastic surgery too; (Nose).

 

[Manmademan]

I wasn't in America during Michael's prime so I never followed how or why he became white, and what the general reaction was from people.

I saw one snippet of an interview where he said he suffered from vitiligo, but vitiligo doesn't look like what he ended up looking like. (Unless it was the result of the treatment for it?)

I realize that this was pre-social media, but did it spurr any sort of a race discussion?

1.) Michael absolutely had vitiligo. That's not really up for debate.

HOWEVER

It's also REALLY obvious that michael had some serious racial identity issues. Skin lightening is one thing, but he also went to fairly unusual lengths re: straightening his hair (no one but james brown went to the lengths MJ did here- and definitely not as late as the 90s) and numerous plastic surgeries on his lips, nose, jaw, etc.

and then there's the general weirdness involved with his kids- i don't want to go there but it's fairly unlikely they're genetically his. someone else is likely the father.

Yes, it spurred race discussion, but more along the lines of michael himself having identity issues and how sad it was despite his talent.

 

[WX3]

He was both.

Never did see these shots before. I knew he had that issue, but all I ever did see was the all white pics.

 

[SirRattleBalls]

He was both.

 

[Meowster]

He definitely had vitiligo but I'd say the excessive plastic surgery and cosmetic changes were more bizarre than any skin bleaching he may have done.

 

[Cheerilee]

I heard a rumor that he had one of those "This is what you will look like in 30 years" computer simulations done, and he ended up looking almost exactly like his father, which is why he went crazy with the plastic surgery. :X

But to answer your question about his skin in particular: He began skin bleaching.

Also to add, he was scared to death of his father.

His father beat him when he was young and it turned into a phobia. Like, supposedly his dad dropped by to visit him at work once (long after Michael had become an adult), and Michael was so shocked by the visit that he wet himself out of terror (apparently his dad didn't realize he was having that effect on his son until it was too late).

It must be rough to have a pants-wetting fear of your own face.

 

[SaviorX]

One thing I never understood about skin bleaching...

How do you get the eyelids? If that was me I'd always forget to do behind the ears or something. And the bottom half of you has to match the top so.....you can forget about putting bleach on that.

 

[cyberheater]

His father beat him when he was young and it turned into a phobia.

Which is really terrible. That is hard to hear.

 

[Anth0ny]

He began skin bleaching once his vitiligo got bad rather than having patches of different colors, IIRC

Yup. At first it was standard vitiligo (around the Thriller era), he used make up to cover it up. As time went on, it got worse (Bad era) and he continued to use makeup. By the time Dangerous rolled around, he said fuck it and just bleached his skin instead of continuing to use ridiculous amount of makeup.

Of course I don't have to tell you that MJ was extremely self conscious about his image.

I don't know if this pic is real, but that gives you an idea.

 

[NEO0MJ]

Like others said, he had Vitiligo. It seemed that it was getting so bad make-up couldn't help anymore and he had his skin bleached. Apparently one of his first nose operations was to actually help him breathe better but after those he just went on a crazy downward spiral of cosmetic surgery for the hell of it. I can't believe he wasn't comfortable with his looks.

It's crazy how he looked. A totally different person.

Did he have a false nose tip?

I remember a video where his nose actually fell from his face. It was pretty scary.

 

[Valhelm]

Might be a weird question, but did post-90s Michael Jackson consider himself a black person?

Because I grew up with pale Michael and always thought of him as a white guy who was born black. To me, he was always kind of an exception to the immutability of race in America. But recently I realized that most people still saw him as black even after his skin became white.

 

[FalsettoVibe]

He definitely had vitiligo but I'd say the excessive plastic surgery and cosmetic changes were more bizarre than any skin bleaching he may have done.

I agree.

 

[Anth0ny]

Like others said, he had Vitiligo. It seemed that it was getting so bad make-up couldn't help anymore and he had his skin bleached. Apparently one of his first nose operations was to actually help him breathe better but after those he just went on a crazy downward spiral of cosmetic surgery for the hell of it. I can't believe he wasn't comfortable with his looks.

Michael always hated the size of his nose.

But, if I recall correctly, he had his first nose job after he broke his nose dancing around the Off the Wall era. It wasn't because he looked in the mirror and said "I'm ugly, I need a nose job."

Of course, after he did that first one... he obviously didn't stop.

Might be a weird question, but did post-90s Michael Jackson consider himself a black person?

Because I grew up with pale Michael and always thought of him as a white guy who was born black. To me, he was always kind of an exception to the immutability of race in America. But recently I realized that most people still saw him as black even after his skin became white.

Always. I think in a 90s Oprah interview he said he was proud to be a black man.

 

[StopMakingSense]

Might be a weird question, but did post-90s Michael Jackson consider himself a black person?

He absolutely did.

 

[Crimsonclaw111]

Dude was crazy talented, but also rich beyond belief and mentally ill and nobody ever told him no.

It sucks, and it sucks that he died right around when he was poised to make a comeback.

 

[frankie_baby]

and then there's the general weirdness involved with his kids- i don't want to go there but it's fairly unlikely they're genetically his. someone else is likely the father

Although there have been photographs that seem to show his eldest son has vitiligo too

 

[RustyNails]

He had Vitiligo and Lupus. It started appearing after the Pepsi accident.

You can see it starting at his hands:

Later picture:

1988

 

[jelly]

What about Prince, he seemed to get a bit whiter over the years.

 

[Marz]

What about Prince, he seemed to get a bit whiter over the years.

Stayed indoors.

 

[LyleLanley]

Believe it or not, there are places in this world with more pressing concerns than celebrity gossip.

I call bullshit on this. I lived in multiple Asian and European countries during the height of MJ's popularity, I would be shocked if there was a place on earth that didn't go crazy for him.

 

[Rei no Otaku]

Well I'd say he's "lucky" as far as people with vitiligo go. For most people it never just completely evens out, it's always just random patches

I have vitiligo. When I was a kid it started in my hands and spread from there. I was lucky in that I was never teased about it. I just let it go and eventually it spread over my whole body and I'm one color again. Only thing that really sucks is that if there's even a little sun I need sunscreen.

 

[a Master Ninja]

What exactly is a "skin bleaching" procedure? I'm literally picturing that Beyonce .gif