appearance

To tell you honestly what Elizabeth and I talked about… She got so “F’d” up […] about being a child star… and I was so screwed up and whatever you want to call it […] I swear to you ’cause I do hide..

Michael Jackson, The Glenda Tapes

Our Core Values and Beliefs:

1. We are not here to judge. We can not highlight this enough.
   
   
   
2. We operate under the principle of charity, approach each situation with understanding and care, assuming there is a reasonable explanation for everything.
   
   
   
3. Michael never owed us an explanation regarding his deeply personal choices, such as how he chose to manage or address his vitiligo, lupus, body dysmorphia, PTSD, and the repercussions of his childhood experiences.
   
   
   
4. If he chose to provide an explanation he might have gone as far as he possibly could in terms of openness and honesty, both with the audience and within himself. It is important to recognize the existence of denial, as body dysmorphia fundamentally involves a distorted self-perception. To assign blame in this context would not only be unkind but also fundamentally irrational.
   
   
   
5. It is perhaps one of the most significant injustices that, following a childhood marked by exploitation and experiences akin to torture, he was not afforded the freedom to navigate his life independently. Instead, he faced scrutiny for nearly every aspect of his existence.
   
   
   
6. He was consistently othered, viewed as either god or freak, rarely regarded as an ordinary human being. While he played a role in this perception (See: Image Manifestos), it is important to acknowledge the underlying racism that contributed to this treatment.
   
   
   
7. He should have at least known that he was gorgeous, exactly the way he was.
   
   

Michael Jackson Triumph Tour (1981)

Covering the lighter spots on face and neck, the green-orangey make-up clearly visible

Michael Jackson Ebony/ Jet Interview (1987)

Evening out the face with lighter make up – ears, neck, hands are still dark

Michael Jackson Bad Era ca. 1987

Face/neck vs inner ear/hand

Speed Demon MV 4k (3/1988)

Wouldn’t you cover that too if you wanted to be white?

Some thoughts:

1. “His skin color changed drastically in the late 1980s which fits the timeline, that he was diagnosed right after Thriller in 1982, tried to cover it up for a while and then decided to change course and use Benoquin to not look spotted. Benoquin is the right treatment for someone with vitiligo prefering to completely remove their remaining pigment than have spots all over. According to Oprah his hands had no pigment and were translucent in 1993, which is what Benoquin would do after about 12 months of use.”¹https://www.umassmed.edu/vitiligo/blog/blog-posts1/2016/01/did-michael-jackson-have-vitiligo/
   
   
2. The aforementioned source indicates that the process of skin depigmentation typically spans around 12 months.
   
   
3. This raises an intriguing question: Why would someone who is attempting to lighten their skin only do so to a certain extent? There are numerous photos and videos of Michael showcasing two distinct skin tones, as evidenced by the photos above. Between 1983 and 1990, his face often appeared considerably lighter than his hands. This is more indicative of a person who evens out any patches, when there is more light skin on their face than their hands, whose intent however is not to actually change their complexion.

Michael Jackson Victory Tour Announcem. 30.11.1983

Michael Jackson (1998) ai enhanced

Moonwalk

Source: Jackson, M. (1988). Moonwalk (1st ed.). New York: Doubleday.

The autopsy report reveals no additional scars beyond those associated with the acknowledged nose jobs and two scars located behind the ears. There are no other observations made regarding the face or its surrounding areas.

Motown 25 Anniv Party LA (1983). Photograph: Getty/Barry King

MJ Bad era (1988)

short hair (1995)

Michael Jackson rare mid 1980s

Michael Jackson Liz Tribute Concert Royal Albert Hall May 26, 2000

Michael Jackson and a tiny baby rare mid 1980s

Michael Jackson & Paris Jackson
mid 2000s

Do you think he looks scary now? Why?

References

• 1
  https://www.umassmed.edu/vitiligo/blog/blog-posts1/2016/01/did-michael-jackson-have-vitiligo/
• 2
  The alae nasi are the lateral portions of the nose or the wings of the nostrils, which partly encircle the nostrils (nares). Source: https://elementsofmorphology.nih.gov/index.cgi?tid=214cbd3c6ab536fd333673e26d99b1d2