Doctor Confirms MJ Had Vitiligo
In a recent interview, Michael's longtime dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein confirmed that Michael had vitiligo. Dr. Klein wanted to fight reports Michael just wanted to be white. He was shocked by producer Quincy Jones' claims that Michael "obviously didn't want to be black".
Dr Klein maintains Michael Jackson's skin became paler over the course of his life due to the skin condition vitiligo, which causes skin to lose pigmentation. He insisted that "Michael was very proud of his black heritage."
Klein explained he tried in vain to slow his patient's condition down:
"We basically used creams that would even out the skin colour... (but) he couldn't really go out in public without looking terribly peculiar." Michael's particular case "was bad because he began to get a speckled look over his body ... All over his body -- but on his face and hands, which is hard to treat."
Michael Jackson's sequined white glove became a signature fashion item, but according to actress Cicely Tyson, it was really used to cloak the early stages of his skin disease. She shared a fashion designer with the pop star in the '80s, and saw him design the glove.
"All of a sudden, he said, 'I'm doing this glove for Michael.' Michael was beginning to develop the vitiligo and it started on his hand. The glove was to cover the vitiligo; that's how that glove came into being."
For more info on vitiligo please visit MJFC's Vitiligo section.
Source: MJFC / Popeater / CNN
MJ-Upbeat: Our friend, (seen below with my daughter April) has vitiligo....as you can see, sometimes large portions of the face and body turn pale white.
This wonderful woman is Miss Weeks, a school teacher who we've known for years. She was so wonderful to needy children giving them cloths and food when she knew they needed it.
See how pale white certain portion's of her skin is? That's about the whitish color that Michael was....almost a pale white. If Michael had Vitiligo as bad as the doctors say, then his face would be similiar to the white areas of this womans face,,,and indeed it 'was' that color. He truly had Vitiligo.
Bonnie Lamrock