Michael Jackson (71 page)

Surprisingly, Michael is not as competitive with Janet as people might think. Mostly, he supports her efforts and offers advice
whenever she asks for it. He thought
Rhythm Nation
was the work of a genius, and his biggest concern was not that it had sold so many copies, but that it hadn’t sold enough.
‘Why did it only sell five or six million copies?’ he asked a former associate. ‘And what does this mean for
me
and my next album?’

Like Michael, Janet has not been resistant to the plastic surgeon’s knife. She has had at least two nose jobs, and some have
speculated that she has had surgery on her breasts. But she knows how to make plastic surgery work to her advantage. She looks
stunning, especially after shedding, on a nine-hundred-calorie-a-day diet, the weight she’d been trying to lose for years.

The rest of the Jacksons have not fared as well in their recordings without Michael. Solo albums by Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon
and Randy all had disappointing sales. So too did an excellent group album (recorded by Jackie, Jermaine, Tito and Randy)
called
2300 Jackson Street
, after the street on which the family lived in Gary.

Michael was bothered that
2300 Jackson Street
had not been a commercial success, especially since he had telephoned Walter Yetnikoff and specifically asked him to take
a special interest in the album. But CBS Records could not successfully promote the Jacksons without Michael. It’s not that
the brothers have no talent; they do. After decades of experience, most of the Jacksons are first-rate vocalists, and they
are all champion entertainers. However, trying to pursue their own careers while Michael Jackson’s shadow looms is not easy.
The public doesn’t seem to want Michael’s brothers; it just wants Michael.

CBS did not renew its relationship with the Jacksons after
2300 Jackson Street
. There was no fanfare, as when the Jacksons left Motown for CBS. Rather, the label just did not pick up the brothers’ contracts.
The Jacksons simply fizzled out.

Without Michael in the lead, his brothers have not been able to secure a new record deal.

Rebbie, by far the most resourceful singer of the three daughters, no longer records.

LaToya’s memoirs, ‘
LaToya – Growing Up in the Jackson Family
,’ was published in September 1991. In it, she was extremely critical of her family, but generous to Michael (and did not
suggest that he had been molested). While she did not claim to have been molested by Joseph in the book – the publisher did
not want to risk legal liability on such a volatile issue – she did so in her promotional tour. On talk show after talk show,
she spoke of Joseph having forced her into sexual relations with him, and Katherine having told him, ‘Not tonight, Joseph.
She’s had enough.’

Again, who can truly know, considering the personalities involved in such madness, if the awful charges LaToya made against
her father were true, or not?

There has always been a great deal of speculation about Michael’s nose; it’s the first of his features referenced when discussing,
or even joking about, the extent of his plastic surgery. By the end of 1990, most people had lost count of how many surgeries
Michael had undergone on his nose, but some in his camp have figured that it had to be at least ten. For years, plastic surgeons
not related to his case have speculated as to whether the nose – which has an elfin quality to it – is made of bone, cartilage
or latex. It’s part of the public discourse when speaking of Michael: what is the truth about his nose?

The truth is that the structure of Michael’s nose collapsed years ago, a consequence of extensive trauma from previous surgeries
on it. One subsequent operation was to add cartilage into the tip, to support and reshape it. However, that procedure was
not completely successful. Therefore, when appearing in public, and often in private, Michael wears a latex appliance, a prosthetic
nose-tip, which he camouflages with stage makeup.

Interestingly, when Michael is seen wearing the surgical mask that is so much a part of his image, it’s not always because
he is attempting to hide his identity or even avoid germs. Sometimes, it’s simply because he was not inclined to wear the
prosthesis. Putting on the appliance is an annoying and frustrating process. It’s his cross to bear on a daily basis, and
there are days when he simply can’t bear it… thus, the mask.

In March 2003,
Vanity Fair
reported that, without the prosthesis, Michaels ‘resembles a mummy with two nostril holes.’ This is not true. Without the
device, his nose appears flatter, more blunt – not pointed – and he doesn’t really look like… Michael Jackson. Self-conscious
about his face, he refuses to be seen without it. If nothing else, the prosthesis must be a painful and daily reminder to
Michael of his past choices where plastic surgery is concerned, and the impact they have had on his life.

It has been suggested that Michael is somehow addicted to plastic surgery. ‘People can easily get addicted to plastic surgery,
as they can to alcohol, drugs, or food,’ according to Dr Alfred Coodley, associate clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA.

‘Actually, it’s more of an obsession than an addiction,’ Dr Robert Kotler, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who has not treated
Michael, observed. ‘I think you have to know when to quit. That’s the greatest message a cosmetic surgeon can bring to his
patient. A conscientious surgeon will say to a patient, “Enough is enough.”’

There are several reasons for Michael’s extremely pale skin, especially on his face. First, he used to bleach his skin with
different chemicals. Is it possible for a black person to make his skin lighter? ‘Yes,’ said Robert Kotler. ‘You can’t make
it white, but you can make it lighter. There are classic bleaching compounds that are commonly found in over-the-counter bleaching
creams like Porcelana. Also, there are known bleaching agents, a class of compounds called Hydroquinones, that will make a
black person’s skin lighter.’

One employee of Michael’s recalled, ‘He used to rub a cream on his face and neck in the morning and, again, at night. He had
all of these little tubes in his makeup kit. I asked him what it was, thinking it was some kind of skin nutrient. He told
me it was ‘medicine’. I left it at that. I then noticed that whenever Michael would go out into the sun, he would cover his
face with his hand or wear a big hat. He seemed petrified of sunlight, as if he was afraid he would burn.’

According to
The Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs
, ‘As the sun’s ability to darken skin is much greater than that of Hydroquinone to lighten it, strict avoidance of sunlight
is imperative. Although sunscreens may help, even visible light will cause some darkening. The preferable packaging of Hydroquinone
is in small squeeze tubes. The dosage is a thin application of 2 per cent concentration rubbed into affected areas twice daily.
Once the desired benefit is achieved, Hydroquinone can be applied as often as needed to maintain de-pigmentation.’ Some have
noted that Michael’s fingernails seemed brown and discolored on Martin Bashir’s 2003 documentary about him. One possible reason
for this is that Hydroquinone stimulates pigment-producing cells in the nail plate, making them darker rather than lighter.

In the 1980s, he was diagnosed with the skin disease Vitiligo. (Some doctors have speculated that the Vitiligo is not as much
hereditary as it is the consequence of damage done by bleaching chemicals over the years. Vitiligo makes the sufferer sensitive
to sunlight.)

In the late 1980s, Michael’s dermatologist, Dr Arnold Klein, diagnosed him as having discoid lupus – an auto-immune disease
that causes darkening or lightening of the skin – on his scalp.

There are two variations of lupus: discoid, which is skin deep, and systemic, which can be deadly. As a part of the treatment
for discoid, Michael’s doctor prescribed the skin lightening creams, Solaquin, Retin A and Benoquin. As a result, Michael
was told that, more than ever, he had to avoid all sun exposure – which is one of the reasons he is often seen shielding himself
with an umbrellas on sunny days. Also, Michael had to endure the direct injections into his scalp of hydroxy chloroquin – a
steroid – in painful, recurring treatments.

Presently, his lupus condition is in remission.

Michael also uses plenty of pancake makeup to even out his skin, which makes him appear even lighter.

In terms of specific plastic surgeries, he will admit to only two nose jobs and the cleft in his chin, but it does not take
a cosmetic surgery expert to see that cheek and chin implants and all sorts of other work, including on his eyes and lips,
are not beyond the bounds of possibility. Trying to actually detail the work Michael had had done is simply not possible;
only he and his surgeons can fully document the extent of it – and it also seems, at least to people who know him well, that
he truly doesn’t remember it all.

Some professionals have gone on the record saying they believe Michael suffers from body dysmorphic disorder, a psychological
condition of people who are obsessed with their appearance, work on it constantly and have no concept of how they are perceived
by others.

Certainly, Michael has not had it easy. In 1995, when he released his composition ‘Childhood’, on
HIStory – Past, Present and Future, Book I
, many people were bored to tears by the notion of him still going on and on about his missing boyhood. However, the song
is about more than just his lost youth; it’s a plea for compassion and understanding. If one truly contemplates and reviews
the challenges he has faced with his appearance, the fact that Michael Jackson is ever able to muster the self-confidence
to make well-scrutinized, public appearances seems almost a miracle.

By 1990, both family and career pressures continued to take their toll on thirty-two-year-old Michael Jackson.

In June of that year, Michael was in negotiations with Disney Studios to lend his name to a new robotic attraction at their
theme parks. At the same time, David Geffen, who was affiliated with MCA (a division of Universal), wanted Michael to appear
at the opening of the Universal Theme Park in Florida, as did Steven Spielberg. However, Michael Eisner, head of Disney, told
Michael that if he had anything to do with MCA-Universal, he would never be able to be associated with Disney again. This
was pressure.

Michael desperately wanted Disney, and Michael Eisner, in his corner, but he also wished to maintain his friendship with David
Geffen and Steven Spielberg. He anguished over this matter for weeks until, in his mind, the dilemma became overwhelming.

On 3 June 1990, Michael was admitted to St John’s Hospital and Health Center in Santa Monica. Accompanied by Steven Hoefflin,
he was gripping his chest and looked dizzy, pale and weak. It was later reported that he had suffered chest pains while doing
his Sunday dance exercises.

The hospital immediately ran a battery of diagnostic tests, including an HIV test. Michael’s blood work came back from the
lab negative, as expected. However, it was determined that he suffered from an enzyme deficiency and was anaemic, probably
due to his strict vegetarian diet.

Michael’s hospitalization made headlines for days. President Bush, Liza Minnelli and Elton John all telephoned to wish him
well. Katherine and other family members visited. LaToya sent a dozen black roses, an odd gesture, but, said LaToya, ‘I think
they’re beautiful.’ Fans held all-night vigils outside of the hospital.

It was reported that Michael was diagnosed as having a condition called costochondritis, a cartilage inflammation in the front
part of the ribs, an ailment most commonly found in young athletes who exercise sporadically. The condition is caused by overexertion
and stress.

‘What bullshit,’ one of Michael’s former close associates noted. ‘The kid had an anxiety attack.’

Indeed, Michael had exhibited the symptoms of sweating, shaking and panting often associated with a classic ‘panic attack’,
a psychological problem sometimes suffered by people under great stress and anxiety.