Why Did Michael Cover Up His Vitiligo Instead of Letting it Be?

Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

Michael was bullied when he was growing up, which resulted in him developing a negative view of his appearance. Being black and having a condition that turns your skin white would be psychologically damaging for anyone, let alone the most famous and scrutinised black artist on the planet. That level of fame and attention combined with Michael's shyness, body image issues and vitiligo, it's no surprise he wanted to cover it up. I'm sure he wanted to avoid the cruel headlines and people staring at his skin condition instead of focusing on his art.
 
Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

I mean, he was the biggest star in the world and his image alone was the center of his celebrity. I don't think MJ was a very confident person on his own and the vitiligo aggravated that low self steem regarding his looks for sure. He would be too self conscious of the blotches. I recall that Teddy Riley also mentioned MJ being self conscious of his changed face aswell.
 
Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

I can obsolutly understand that michael wanted to cover up his skindesease.
He was a proud black man.

The only mistake was to not admit it four years earlier.
But when he admitted it the evil media should have take this seriously and belive it cause the evidence was absolutly there to find in pictures!
I absolutly hate the media for spread the the skinbleaching lie and that MJ don't wanted to be black til his death!
This must have absolutly hurt Michael.
 
ManBehindTheMirrOr - Dona;4255603 said:
The only mistake was to not admit it four years earlier.

Why it was a mistake that he did not admit it four years earlier?

Even if he did that, most people/media would still not have believed him in late ‘80s.
 
Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

Everyone handles things like this differently. I don't think it's up to us to question or judge how Michael chose to deal with it. The times were much different in the seventies and eighties.....not enough was known about so many diseases, disorders and conditions; people were discriminated against because of a general lack of understanding. Michael did say in his interview with Oprah in 1992 that he had vitiligo and he tried to explain what it was, but there were many people who had never heard of it and/or didn't believe that he had it, preferring to believe something ridiculous was going on, such as skin bleaching. It is better understood, now, because of him and because of others like Winnie Harlow, who have tried to educate the world about it.
 
Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

As others have said, those were different times. The race issue was a lot bigger and prominent than it is today. The fact that he was black and so successful was brought up a lot. These days, if a black person becomes super successful, almost nobody focuses on their race. And if they do it is in a joking manner.
I mean, just look at the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990 - 1996). I've just started re-watching the show and the whole race thing is almost a central focal point of every episode. A show like that would have a lot less impact and significance today. And that was the 90'! Michael was blasting it even before that!
So it's not just a skin condition for a "normal" person, it's a skin condition for Michael Jackson in the 80' and 90'. Of course he tried to cover it up, it is the only reasonable thing to do.

I feel super proud of him when I look at his later public appearances. He just didn't give a crap anymore and showed off his snow-white skin with pride. That must have taken a lot of growing and building. The only thing I don't really understand is why he would put on so much lipstick and wear such unrealistic wigs. Sure, the long hair and the glasses were used to hide his face, I get that. But he really should have picked a more natural looking wig. That hairline was just a perfect arch and looked weird for a man in his 50'.
Also, the pictures where he wasn't perfectly shaved....I freaking LOVE that!

So yeah...vitiligo really sounded like something made up. Of course people chose to believe that an eccentric man bleached his skin rather than having a disease with a funny name that nobody ever heard of.
 
Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

- Why do people wear fancy clothes?
- Why do people, especially girls/women use makeup, eyeliner, lipgloss, etc?
- Why do people have special hairdos?
- Why do people cover up pimples, spots, etc.?
- Why do people care about their look anyway?

People have the right to express themselves. Especially they have the right, to do something/anything if they think they look better & they therefore feel more comfortable in there skin (no pun intended).

Michael felt he needed to cover up his condition, so be it, it's his right. It was the 80's & 90's.

I don't get it: millennials & youth in general nowadays are trying so hard to be/or to come across as oh so tolerant.
But oftentimes it feels like the world is becoming more intolerant by the minute.

If y'all are oh so tolerant, then don't be tolerant only for one side. Let all people enjoy this tolerance.

One example: I can't stand pupils laughing at classmates who can't afford expensive clothes, or brands.
But I also can't stand people who bitch about others who have the money & who can afford themselves something that others may not.
If i can't afford to drive a porsche, i don't need to bash or hate on people who can & will spend the money on such a luxury car.

Sorry for my rant. But that is something i see a lot on social media & in forums like this.

Tolerance goes both ways!

Back on topic: MJ had every right to do what ever he wanted, concerning the way he wanted to look.
 
Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

The times were much different in the seventies and eighties.....not enough was known about so many diseases, disorders and conditions; people were discriminated against because of a general lack of understanding. Michael did say in his interview with Oprah in 1992 that he had vitiligo and he tried to explain what it was, but there were many people who had never heard of it and/or didn't believe that he had it, preferring to believe something ridiculous was going on, such as skin bleaching.

This is so true and important to keep in mind when discussing this topic. This was a time when AIDS was a new thing that people didn't understand, a lot of people still thought you could catch cancer from people, and so on. Knowledge about medical conditions (especially among the general public) was not what it is now.
 
Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

He was already concealing the acne he was dealing with during the time of the outbreak in the late 70's. On top of already being one of the most recognizable faces in the entertainment industry, the rough transition into young adulthood was only magnified for him. The only real photos released publicly of his condition before his diagnosis came out in the 2000's, which was a promo photo from 1978 and some behind-the-scenes shots of him removing his zombie makeup during the filming of "Thriller" in 1983.
 
Unfortunately, I think he may not have realized early on just how much the vitiligo would affect his appearance/he was in denial about it. He used his wardrobe and makeup to hide the first signs of the disease (the white glove is an example of this, as the splotches first appeared on his hands) and probably he figured it would either only affect some parts of his body or progress very slowly. As the disease became more advanced and difficult to hide, then his low self-esteem kicked in and he began seeking ways to alleviate the symptoms. That meant making drastic changes to his appearance. It was just bad luck that his vitiligo was so pervasive and aggressive.

Couple that with the Pepsi burns and lupus, as well as the bullying he experienced from his father and brothers, I’m not surprised he was so guarded about his looks and reluctant to talk about it.
 
Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

Its simple. We know how horrible the media treated him. Now imagine having to deal with his Vitiligo publicly years before he officially mentioned it. Also, keep in mind the world wasnt as accepting as it was back then to this. Models today being an advocate for Vitilgo wouldve been really tough 30+ years ago. Im not saying Mj couldnt of done it, but I completely understand his decision to hide it for as long as he could.
 
Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

I's easy saying that when you're not the most famous man alive as he was at that time. He was also very self conscious. I wished he had told about it sooner though.
 
Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

Vitiligo ist something personal. No reason for him to show it to everyone.
 
White Nights;4268293 said:
Couple that with the Pepsi burns and lupus, as well as the bullying he experienced from his father and brothers, I’m not surprised he was so guarded about his looks and reluctant to talk about it.

Actually those Pepsi burns on his scalp (in January 1984) worsened his vitiligo even more.

But Michael Jackson ‘s vitiligo got worse also by another factor: his escalated anxiety and stress brought on by the Victory Tour performances and by his constant efforts to remain the biggest star in general.

These factors (scalp injury, anxiety, stress) scientifically fall into the category of the environmental factors that worsen one’s vitiligo.

This explains why Michael Jackson’s vitiligo developed so rapidly on his skin from mid-80s onwards.
 
mj_frenzy;4268426 said:
Actually those Pepsi burns on his scalp (in January 1984) worsened his vitiligo even more.

But Michael Jackson ‘s vitiligo got worse also by another factor: his escalated anxiety and stress brought on by the Victory Tour performances and by his constant efforts to remain the biggest star in general.

These factors (scalp injury, anxiety, stress) scientifically fall into the category of the environmental factors that worsen one’s vitiligo.

This explains why Michael Jackson’s vitiligo developed so rapidly on his skin from mid-80s onwards.

Poor Mike. :( i'm glad he left his brothers. they was apart of the reasons why he went though so much crap. also screw Pepsi. we always knew they were always behind this crap.
 
Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

Those who knew Michael often spoke about his self-confidence issues, most of which rooted around his acne and the size of his nose (which his father and brothers apparently mocked him mercilessly about). Plus, there's that whole theory that he wanted plastic surgery to diminish his resemblance to Joseph, though I'm not sure that's ever been confirmed. On top of that, he was pretty much the media's punching bag when the vitiligo started to become more obvious; if he breathed funny, the media would point and laugh at him.

I imagine the last thing he'd want is to give the world more reasons to make him feel bad about himself.
 
Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?


 
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mj_frenzy;4268426 said:
But Michael Jackson ‘s vitiligo got worse also by another factor: his escalated anxiety and stress brought on by the Victory Tour performances and by his constant efforts to remain the biggest star in general.

Speculation. Not fact.
 
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Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

it was clearly a difficult thing for him to come to terms with, as he became emotional when he spoke of it for the first time in '93.

I wonder if it would have been better to release a press statement, and have his manager read it at a conference? I understand that he didn't want to go into his medical history, but unfortunately, it just left more room for speculation. that's why he was constantly asked about it. it should have been properly explained to begin with.

having said that, I never got the impression that he wanted to go back to his old looks. he even said that he would rather be like lisa marie because she could tan. tan is not the same as black.. his make up artist karen faye said that Michael chose to use the paler foundations and bright red lipstick. there was also the story of the director of the 'you rock my world' video suggesting that Michael wear a darker foundation. he apparently threw a fit in his dressing room..

somebody mentioned the 'victory' tour earlier, and i'm glad they did. it was around this time that he was painting himself in white makeup; on his face, neck, hands, chest.. whatever parts he planned to expose. it would come off on his clothes. there are pictures of him backstage doing this (with jermaines' help). also, the photographs were brightened to make he and his brothers appear 25% lighter than they were. apparently this was their father joseph's order. this was evident in the 'victory' album inlay, tour book, and publicity pictures. there's a huge difference between Michael's appearance between the first date in Kansas, and Toronto. the tour only lasted 5 months, I think..

he would alternate between looking tanned and white between 85' and '91, before permanently settling on white from '92 onwards. the fact the plastic surgery began before this didn't help matters either. neither did the fact that his sister latoya's skin had also become lighter (she was always fair skinned, but never white). some felt the transformation was complete in '92. maybe they were right? i'm not disputing that he had the disease. this was shown on his autopsy after all, but maybe this helped him to become the vision that he had for himself? he was an artist after all.

as usual fans have taken this on as their own problem. they speculate that every shadow, blemish, or discolouration was vitiligo. I've even seen them photoshop it on to pictures that didn't originally have it! it's suspect. Michael himself didn't even go to those lengths to prove it. he didn't even mention it by name initially. he was not a spokesperson for the disease the way that Michael j fox was for Parkinson's. I honestly don't think he planned to address it at all during that interview based on his reaction. he should have known that it was the number one question that people wanted to know. apparently he rolled up his sleeve to show the brown spots on his arm during the commercial break. wouldn't it have been more effective to do that on camera instead?

over the years he continued to equate skin lightening with sunbathing. people can only judge what they see. what they saw was not oblivious vitiligo, it was the overall skin tone becoming lighter with time. vitiligo shows up in patches. bleaching rumours began with 'bad' (even though his skin was getting lighter before then), and continued for years because there was no correction or explanation from Michael or his team. he even allowed the writers of the simpsons episode to make a joke about it!

it's easy for fans who weren't around during that time to leave angry comments under old news reports, but you have to understand the context of it all. people, including fans back then, were genuinely concerned..
 
Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

It's 2019 and Winnie Harlow makes headlines for showing Vitiligo. Walk around as a dark person with white markings all over you as a 'normal person' in a WalMart and tell me the stairs don't have any psychological effect. Imagine being in his shoes!

His appearance was talked about years before his skin tone changed, he embodied bravery.
 
Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

It must be hard enough having vitiligo, and seeing yourself become unrecognisable in the mirror, let alone while the whole world is watching.
I don't blame Michael for trying to hide it, he had his reasons and I respect him for them
 
Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

Have any of Michael Jackson's brothers ever had plastic surgery on their faces, their noses?
 
Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

I hate this world. this cruel sick world.
 
Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

I'm not sure but i got feeling janet got her nose changed. i could be wrong.

Janet is a yes. But, I don't know why both her and Michael like their noses pointing upward. To look like Peter Pan?
 
Re: Why did Michael cover up his vitiligo instead letting it be?

Janet is a yes. But, I don't know why both her and Michael like their noses pointing upward. To look like Peter Pan?

I have no idea. i really wish they left their noses alone. but it's all their father fault and their brothers because they bullied them when their were younger. Michael actually got his nose done once but due to the lupus and the vitiligo it kind of made things worst. :( some fans tend to draw Michael with his real nose.

it's really sad family bullied him. what kind of family is that? i'm serious what the heck? ugh. poor michael. i hope he in better place now where no one can judge him. :cry:
 
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