• Celebrity
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Women in Music
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
  • Fashion
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion House
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Color Files Podcast
    • Nails
    • How-To
    • Beauty Carnival-Archive
    • Dope Stuff On My Desk
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weaves
    • 4C
    • Spring Hair And Beauty
  • Love
    • Love & Sex
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle News
    • Coronavirus: Everything You Need to Know
    • Health & Wellness
    • Holiday Gift Guide 2020
    • Unbossed Podcast
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
    • Currency Conversations
    • Your legacy
  • News
    • BLACK VOTES MATTER
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Videos
  • Events
    • WELLNESS HOUSE: YEAR OF RENEWAL
    • LEVEL UP: Entrepreneur Summit (DEC 2020)
    • Power Tools
    • SHE GOT NOW
    • Girls United Summit
    • Making Moves Now: Virtual Bootcamp
    • #EF SESSIONS
    • Dear Black Men
    • Cares Act
    • News & Announcements
  • Festival
  • Subscribe
  • Essence Studios
  • Girls United
  • NaturallyCurly
  • Shop Essence

Follow Us

Skip to content
  • Essence Studios
  • Girls United
  • NaturallyCurly
  • Shop Essence
  • Celebrity
    • Celebrity
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Women in Music
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
  • Fashion
    • Fashion
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion House
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Color Files Podcast
    • Nails
    • How-To
    • AVEENO® Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty Carnival-Archive
    • Dope Stuff On My Desk
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • Beauty News
  • Hair
    • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weaves
    • 4C
    • Spring Hair And Beauty
  • Love
    • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Coronavirus: Everything You Need to Know
    • Health & Wellness
    • Lifestyle News
    • Holiday Gift Guide 2020
    • Netflix’s Jingle Jangle Gift Guide
    • Unbossed Podcast
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
    • Currency Conversations
    • Your Legacy
  • News
    • News
    • BLACK VOTES MATTER
    • Essence 50th Anniversary
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Videos
  • Events
    • Events
    • WELLNESS HOUSE: YEAR OF RENEWAL
    • LEVEL UP: Entrepreneur Summit (DEC 2020)
    • Power Tools
    • SHE GOT NOW
    • Girls United Summit
    • Making Moves Now: Virtual Bootcamp
    • #EF SESSIONS
    • Dear Black Men
    • Cares Act
    • News & Announcements
  • Festival
  • Subscribe
Home · News

Michael Jackson: Truth or Tabloid

Michael Jackson: Truth or Tabloid
By · July 15, 2009October 29, 2020
01
Truth or Tabloid?: Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson has been a target of the rumor mill long before he passed. Now, more than ever, everyone is talking about his eccentric life and mysterious death. ESSENCE.com separates fact from fiction.

See pictures of Michael Jackson’s memorial service »

Our complete coverage of Michael Jackson »

Michael Jackson’s life in photos »

Corbis
02
Vitiligo

Tabloid: MJ bleached his skin because he wanted to be White.

Truth: The King of Pop told Oprah Winfrey in a 1993 interview: “As far as I know there is no such thing as skin bleaching. I don’t know what it is…I have a skin disorder that destroys pigmentation of my skin.” And more recently an ABC News special showed photos of MJ’s legs, confirming that he had vitiligo, a skin disorder manifested by smooth white spots on various parts of the body.

See pictures of Michael Jackson’s memorial service »

Our complete coverage of Michael Jackson »

Michael Jackson’s life in photos »

03
Plastic Surgery

Tabloid: Numerous nose jobs had caused the tip of MJ’s nose to fall off.

Truth: The singer suffered from a staph infection which he developed and received treatment for before it escalated into a flesh-eating infection.

See pictures of Michael Jackson’s memorial service »

Our complete coverage of Michael Jackson »

Michael Jackson’s life in photos »

Corbis
04
Macaulay Culkin

Tabloid: It’s been reported that Jackson molested former child actor and star of “Home Alone” Macaulay Culkin.

Truth: In 2005, Culkin, who was a longtime friend of Jackson’s,
testified that the “Thriller” singer never molested him.

See pictures of Michael Jackson’s memorial service »

Our complete coverage of Michael Jackson »

Michael Jackson’s life in photos »

05
Jackson’s Kids

Tabloid: Jackson and ex-wife Debbie Rowe are not the biological parents of his three children.

Truth: During a broadcast interview with London reporter Martin Bashir, the journalist asked Prince Michael who was his mother, to which he replied: “I don’t have a mom.”

See pictures of Michael Jackson’s memorial service »

Our complete coverage of Michael Jackson »

Michael Jackson’s life in photos »

AP Image
06
Custody Battle

Tabloid: Debbie Rowe is planning to seek full custody of Jackson’s three children.

Truth: At press time, Rowe’s lawyer said she had not decided if she would seek custody. In the meantime, Katherine Jackson has temporary custody of the children.

See pictures of Michael Jackson’s memorial service »

Our complete coverage of Michael Jackson »

Michael Jackson’s life in photos »

Corbis
07
Parental Rights

Tabloid: Jackson’s dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein, is allegedly the biological father of MJ’s children.

Truth: Dr. Klein told CNN’s Larry King that “to best of my knowledge I’m not the biological father.”

See pictures of Michael Jackson’s memorial service »

Our complete coverage of Michael Jackson »

Michael Jackson’s life in photos »

Corbis
08
Funeral Arrangements

Tabloid: Jackson’s body was not in the casket during the broadcast memorial at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Truth: There was no vehicle procession to Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery where the Jackson family reportedly had chosen as his final resting place.

See pictures of Michael Jackson’s memorial service »

Our complete coverage of Michael Jackson »

Michael Jackson’s life in photos »

Getty Image
09
Drug Intervention

Tabloid: Jackson’s family did nothing to help with his alleged drug addiction.

Truth: Tito Jackson revealed to Britian’s Daily Mirror that he “never saw Michael on drugs,” and that he and his siblings barged in on the singer to talk to him, but his baby brother denied that he had any addiction.

See pictures of Michael Jackson’s memorial service »

Our complete coverage of Michael Jackson »

Michael Jackson’s life in photos »

AP Image
10
A Double Life

Tabloid: An author claims that Jackson cross-dressed and lived a closeted gay lifestyle.

Truth: Jackson had two ex-wives, Lisa Marie Presley and Debbie Rowe, and no one can prove he lived a duplicitous life.

See pictures of Michael Jackson’s memorial service »

Our complete coverage of Michael Jackson »

Michael Jackson’s life in photos »

AP Image
11
Pain Killers

Tabloid: Jackson’s nurse, Cherilyn Lee, reported that the singer was in a great amount of pain prior to his untimely death.

Truth: Dr. Arnold Klein, Jackson’s dermatologist, contradicts Lee’s statement by saying he was in good health when he visited the office three days before he died and seemed to be in good spirits, dancing for him and his patients.

See pictures of Michael Jackson’s memorial service »

Our complete coverage of Michael Jackson »

Michael Jackson’s life in photos »

Corbis
12
Gone Too Soon

Tabloid: The King of Pop’s death is ruled an overdose.

Truth: Authorities were investigating the pop star’s death as a possible homicide, though they have since ruled out such a case. La Toya Jackson has said she believes her brother was indeed murdered.

See pictures of Michael Jackson’s memorial service »

Our complete coverage of Michael Jackson »

Michael Jackson’s life in photos »

AP Image
13
no title

Tabloid: It’s been reported that Jackson molested former child actor and star of “Home Alone” Macaulay Culkin.

Truth: In 2005, Culkin, who was a longtime friend of Jackson,
testified that the “Thriller” singer never molested him.

See pictures of Michael Jackson’s memorial service »

Our complete coverage of Michael Jackson »

Michael Jackson’s life in photos »

Corbis
14
206691 42 20678856 Full
15
206671 Order5766551 764592295 Full
16
206731 Order5769895 1581415137 Full
17
206771 2740857 Full

Read More

Lifestyle
Shop These Valentine's Day Gifts By Black-Owned Brands
News
My VP Looks Like Me: These Inauguration Day Tribute Photos W...
Black Celeb Couples
Black Love: Barack and Michelle Obama's Love Through the Years
Entertainment
‘Bridgerton’ Is Getting A Second Season
Health & Wellness
Tiffany Haddish Unveils Her Slimmed Down Figure After 30-Day...
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2021 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now