It’s been 15 years since Michael Jackson died from cardiac arrest caused by a propofol and benzodiazepine overdose before his concert residency was due. The iconic sensation left behind his three kids, Prince, Paris, and Bigi (previously known as Blanket), who often open up about their dad and remember him on his birth and death anniversary.
Last year, Prince Jackson opened up about Michael’s skin condition during an appearance on Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson podcast. He discussed the King of Pop’s experience with Vitiligo, a chronic disorder that often due to genetics or changes in the immune system causes patches of skin to lose their pigmentation, giving these areas a milky white appearance.
Prince told Tyson, “When I was younger, he was always explaining to me, speaking about that. I think it was even in the autopsy report. I think the cause of it is up for speculation, but it’s either vitiligo or some form of lupus contributed to the vitiligo.”
He continued revealing that the condition caused his father anxiety. He added, “He had a lot of insecurity around, kind of looking blotchy in his appearance. So he wanted to see if he could smooth out his appearance, to help with his security on his physical appearance.”
Even Michael himself once addressed his condition in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 1993. During the time, the singer gained widespread speculation due to his changing appearance and extensive cosmetic surgery.
He told Winfrey, “I have a skin disorder the pigmentation of my skin. It is something I cannot help. When people make up stories that I don’t want to be who I am, it hurts me. It’s a problem for me. I can’t control it. But what about all the millions of people who sit in the sun to become darker, to become other than what they are? Nobody says nothing about that.”
He continued denying that he does not bleach his skin, “It’s in my family, I can’t control it. It makes me very sad. I try to control it, and using makeup evens it out because I have blotches on my skin and I have to even it out. But you know what’s funny? Why is that so important? That’s not important to me.”
Furthermore, in the interview, Prince discussed his father’s legacy and the artists who have taken inspiration from him. He admitted, “I think The Weeknd is a really good comparison. I think it’s apparent he was inspired by my dad, the way he sings [and] a lot of his music videos. But I think overall artistry, Beyoncé has really been able to stay relevant and adapt with it and still performs at the peak of her career like every time she performs.”
Prince even shared that even after his death, he is still learning about his dad, explaining, “He was very interesting. Personally, I’m doing a lot of research on him and learning a lot about his story. And there’s so much to cover….when you see the performances from the Bad tour, the Dangerous tour, you see it from his perspective when he’s looking out and it’s just a sea of people watching him.”
He continued, “I always wondered doing that night after night, month after month, What impact does that have on you? To see a sea of people just singing your lyrics back to you and wanting to reach out and touch you. The impact of that has got to be very profound.”
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