Michael Jackson is the immortal king of pop music at the end of the last century and the beginning of the 21st century. This title was given to the singer by millions of fans and colleagues, among whom he had no equal. During his short life, the artist captivated the public with his brilliant hits and dance moves; sold a huge number of music albums, ahead of the Beatles and Elvis Presley; donated millions of dollars to charity and saved the lives of hopelessly ill children.
The personal life of a famous person is tirelessly discussed by fans. Jackson, as a person of world significance, did not escape such a fate. His personality remains well known even after his death. This is facilitated not only by the artist’s legendary work, but also by his appearance, which in the mid-90s caused a shock among the world community.
Throughout his life, Jackson resorted to the services of plastic surgeons and “improved” his appearance. He became the first person in the world who managed to modify the genetic characteristics of the Negroid race and change skin color. Why did Michael Jackson become white, and what made him resort to such radical changes? Let's find out the answers to all questions in this article.
Popular myth
Why did Michael Jackson become white? Fans have not found an answer to this question for a long time. A completely logical explanation was popular among fans, which, as it turned out later, has nothing to do with reality.
Fans decided that it was difficult for a person with dark skin to achieve great heights in show business. When the singer began his career, society oppressed and humiliated “colored” people in every possible way. It was believed that this was the reason why Michael Jackson wanted to be white and resorted to the help of doctors and plastic surgeons to realize his dream.
What did the singer change in himself?
After the death and the autopsy, the doctors were simply horrified. In addition to marks from injections, bruises and injuries of unknown origin, scars from almost 30 plastic surgeries were discovered. Michael Jackson literally tortured himself with various kinds of interventions. It is difficult to find a part of the body that has not undergone changes.
Color of the skin
This is one of the most radical transformations over the singer's appearance. There are many rumors about this. Many believe that Michael Jackson had a full skin graft.
Although he was born with a dark color, by the age of 30 it had a painful transparency. The skin has lost all its pigmentation. Blue veins were visible through it. The situation was aggravated by excessive exhaustion.
Watch the video about why Michael Jackson mutated white:
According to the anamnesis and the singer himself, he suffered from a lack of pigment in the skin, vitiligo and lupus. However, some experts continue to insist on artificial, operational color change.
Indeed, the artist’s face acquired the hue of a lying corpse and became unnaturally plastic. Although there is a possibility that this is the result of many other surgical interventions.
Nose
He became the most famous and frightening example of plastic surgery fanaticism. Before the surgeries, he had a typical large and wide nose. The singer first underwent rhinoplasty in 1979, supposedly to correct a septum in order to restore breathing. But during the operation the wings and bridge of the nose were corrected. The result was quite neat and satisfactory. So it seemed to everyone except Jackson himself. He considered that this was not enough.
Changes from 1979 to 2000
Subsequently, he underwent many operations, which led to the almost destruction of his face altogether . Although Michael himself insisted that he did no more than two manipulations. One of the latter led to the bridge of the nose collapsing and necrotic spots appearing on the face. Photos from the mid-2000s are simply terrifying. During this time, Michael often puts on a mask when appearing in public.
A German surgeon improved the situation slightly by transplanting ear cartilage. This briefly made Jackson's face less scary. Although the nose finally acquired a triangular shape, the wings were narrow, like clothespins, and the tip was completely absent. In addition, scars and the consequences of plastic surgery are visible all over the nose and around it.
Lips
The singer himself denies surgical interventions to reduce lips. But when comparing photos from childhood and youth with later ones, the difference in plumpness and size is very noticeable.
The natural shape of the lips was acceptable. Michael looked natural. But over time, the plumpness and sagging of the lower lip noticeably decreased, and the mouth decreased in size.
Cheekbones
As already noted, Michael Jackson sought to achieve similarities with Kirk Douglas. It looked more natural before. But over time, the face lost its identity and naturalness. The artist himself did not admit that he had undergone surgery to correct his cheekbones. But silicone implants are too noticeable under the singer’s thin and fair skin. In addition, he had recently been very thin, and all the plastic changes were obvious.
With the implants, Jackson looked like a cartoon character. The cheeks sank, revealing the presence of silicone inserts.
Chin
This operation did not make the singer’s face even worse; it was already disfigured. The implant turned out to be too unnaturally shaped and too large. It hung like a huge appendage on Michael's too-thin and exhausted face. In addition, Jackson added a scar in the middle of his chin, imitating a dimple like Kirk Douglas.
But the result did not at all resemble the film ideal. The new chin only further disfigured the singer’s face.
Eyes
By nature, Michael had slightly bulging eyes. This feature is characteristic of representatives of the Negroid race. Gradually, the singer changed the shape and shape of his eyes, which made him look more like a European. However, that didn't make him better, more attractive, or less scary. As a result, the eyes became swollen, swollen, and constantly tired. It began to appear that Jackson was addicted to alcohol. In addition, the bulge was not completely eliminated.
The shape of the eyebrows and hairline also changed. The forehead became higher.
Doctor's verdict
There is still some truth in such speculation. The singer was indeed constantly observed by doctors and repeatedly went under the surgeon’s knife, but the reason for this was not public opinion.
In the mid-90s, it became known why Michael Jackson became white and what preceded such a radical change in appearance. It turned out that the King of Pop suffered from a rare autoimmune skin disease. Vitiligo - that was the verdict from the doctors. The disease cannot be treated, and achieving remission is almost impossible.
Bad fall
It all started back in 1979, when Michael Jackson fell off the stage during a concert and broke his nose. This incident was the impetus for his never-ending pursuit of perfection. The first rhinoplasty turned out to be forced and not very successful, followed by a second - corrective one. It was after this that the first minor changes became visible on Michael’s face: the singer’s wide African nose became slightly narrower and smaller in size.
However, Jackson did not live with this appearance for long: in 1984, he took the first serious step towards his current state.
As a result of complete rhinoplasty, the tip was narrowed and the walls of the nose were shifted. Michael's face instantly transformed: his facial features became more subtle and expressive, and only his skin color spoke of his African-American origin. The new Michael Jackson instantly found himself at the peak of popularity. In the same year, he set a record for the number of Grammy awards (he received as many as 8!) for his legendary album “Thriller”. At this time, the public adores Michael, adores his moonwalk and his new nose.
Michael Jackson is the absolute record holder among Western stars for plastic surgery. He underwent more than 50 surgical interventions.
But it seems that Michael could not give up the idea that there is no limit to perfection. Already in 1985, he again went to a plastic surgeon - and he made his nose even narrower. Moreover, it became noticeable to the naked eye how the star’s skin color gradually brightened. Few people focused on this, citing the wonders of stage makeup. And there was no time for that, because all attention was still focused on his work, and not on scandals and plastic transformations. Jackson's new song "We are the world" remains at the top of the charts and receives all possible awards. Jackson receives the unspoken title of King of Pop.
What is vitiligo
Vitiligo is a rare progressive disease that manifests itself in discoloration of certain areas of the skin due to the lack of pigment substance (melanin). The same thing happens with albinos, only their skin is completely devoid of pigment, and not partially. Vitiligo does not pose any health risk and is not spread to others. The carrier of the disease faces only an unaesthetic appearance of the skin.
For a European, skin depigmentation is not as bad as for an African American. If the first white spots are practically invisible, then the second ones they are clearly visible even at a distance of ten meters. This is exactly what Jackson was afraid of. The idol of millions could not afford to appear in public with a terrifying skin defect.
Unusuality
Michael Jackson stood out among his peers as a child and was a talented and active child. Family life was not sweet, because he had to endure humiliation from his own father and endure his harsh temper. But, despite this, he was able to achieve significant success in the world of show business and become an example to follow. Perhaps it was precisely this kind of upbringing that gave him stability in his views and his own position in life, which was different from his social environment.
How Michael Jackson became white
In the early 1980s, Jackson began to experience rapid growth of white spots all over his face and body. The singer was very worried about the disease, which turned his appearance into an object of ridicule for others. The doctors shrugged their shoulders and could do nothing to help a man willing to pay tens of millions of dollars for a complete recovery.
The singer had only one choice - makeup. When a smaller portion of the skin was affected, Jackson masked the light spots with a dark foundation. Over time, as the disease began to progress, most of the skin became white. Consequently, there was a need to make up dark areas on the face with a light foundation.
It's hard to say in what year Michael Jackson became white. There was no immediate and abrupt transition, since the disease progressed for several decades. All this time, the singer’s make-up artists carefully selected the foundation, ranging from dark in the early 80s to light in the mid-90s. Around the end of the last century, Jackson almost completely lost his pigment and began to appear in public with aristocratically white skin. Until the end of his life, the singer used foundation, as barely noticeable dark spots remained on his face.
Whitened skin
| Four years later, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, he admitted that skin bleaching was mandatory. According to him, he suffers from vitiligo (the appearance of white spots on the skin). Although many believe that Jackson did bleaching procedures because he did not want to be African-American. In 1989, the singer’s appearance changed a lot. The skin became noticeably whiter, and the nose became even thinner. In addition, a cleft chin appeared, most likely after unsuccessful plastic surgery. Since then, Michael Jackson's plastic surgery has become a constant topic of discussion in various media. |
What does the nose have to do with it?
We have already found out that it was not by his own will that Michael Jackson became white. Why did he constantly adjust the shape of his nose? Did such a painful procedure really bring any benefit to the singer?
But imagine an African American and his naturally wide nose. It is quite common for dark-skinned people to see this nose shape, but for white people it looks very unattractive. Since Jackson was a public person, he had to undergo surgery. The first rhinoplasty was unsuccessful, and the singer began to have serious health problems. All subsequent operations were performed not for aesthetics, but for medical reasons.
Michael's appearance and life before plastic surgery
The boy was born and grew up in a creative family. Michael began singing at the age of five, as evidenced by photographs from his personal archive. Since childhood, he performed in the family band the Jacksons.
He was born dark-skinned. Many note that despite this, he was a very pleasant and handsome boy. But Michael's psychological state was greatly influenced by his father. He was an extremely tough person. The whole family suffered from his despotism. He often made fun of Michael, especially his nose. All this gave rise to disrespect, dislike and disgust for one’s own appearance.
In the early 70s, the singer began a solo career. All his songs and albums are released in record numbers, which no one can overcome to this day. The public literally idolizes the singer; his concerts attract up to half a million spectators. But despite everyone’s adoration, Michael remains a lonely, dissatisfied and unhappy person at heart. The singer entered the Guinness Book of Records for many of his achievements.
But in parallel with success in his career, he changed his appearance. One of the versions of why Michael began to have a nose job is the story of how he broke it during a performance. After recovery, breathing problems began, so he had to go under the surgeon’s knife to correct the septum. However, even then the changes in the shape of the nose were very noticeable.
In general, it was from this part that the singer’s bullying of his appearance began. He hated his skin color, bulging eyes and wide nose, plump lips, characteristic of representatives of the Negroid race. He gradually changed all this, trying to become like a European. But each subsequent operation only worsened the condition, turning the nice guy into a wax monster. He probably considered Kirk Douglas, who played the role of Spartacus, to be his ideal.
We recommend reading about unsuccessful star plastic surgery. You will learn about mistakes in correcting the appearance of Russian and Hollywood stars, the most unsuccessful operations on the face, lips, nose and chest. And here is more about Cher before and after plastic surgery.
