There has been widespread controversy about this; some say that Michael has vigiligo, whilst others say that he bleached his skin via plastic surgery. There has been enough controversy surrounding MJ, this thread is dedicated to show you'll the real truth.
Interview with Oprah
The following video clearly explains the same. Please take a look.
Scroll down for evidence : Concert pictures and more
Michael Jackson had an illness called vitiligo. Yes its real, a lot of people have it both black and white. In thriller era he wore a glove because vitiligo began on his hand.
What is vitiligo? Vitiligo (vit-ill-EYE-go) is a pigmentation disorder in which melanocytes (the cells that make pigment) in the skin are destroyed. As a result, white patches appear on the skin in different parts of the body. Similar patches also appear on both the mucous membranes (tissues that line the inside of the mouth and nose), and the retina (inner layer of the eyeball). The hair that grows on areas affected by vitiligo sometimes turns white.The cause of vitiligo is not known, but doctors and researchers have several different theories. There is strong evidence that people with vitiligo inherit a group of three genes that make them susceptible to depigmentation. The most widely accepted view is that the depigmentation occurs because vitiligo is an autoimmune diseaseâ€â€a disease in which a person's immune system reacts against the body's own organs or tissues. As such, people's bodies produce proteins called cytokines that alter their pigment-producing cells and cause these cells to die. Another theory is that melanocytes destroy themselves. Finally, some people have reported that a single event such as sunburn or emotional distress triggered vitiligo; however, these events have not been scientifically proven as causes of vitiligo.
Interview with Oprah
This is what michael jackson said in an interview about vitiligo
Oprah: OK, then let's go to the thing that is most discussed about you, that is, the color of your skin...is most obviously different than when you were younger, and so I think it has caused a great deal of speculation and controversy as to what you have done or are doing, are you bleaching your skin, and is your skin getting lighter because you don't like being black?
Michael: Number one, as far as I know of there is no such thing as skin bleaching. I have never seen it, I don't know what it is.
Oprah: Well they used to have those products, I remember growing up always hearing "always use bleach and glow", but you have to have about 300,000 gallons.
Michael: OK, but number one, this is the situation. I have a skin disorder that destroys the pigmentation of my skin, it's something that I cannot help, OK? But when people make up stories that I don't want to be what I am it hurts me.
Oprah: So it is...
Michael: It's a problem for me that I can't control...but what about all the millions of people who sit out in the sun, to become darker, to become other than what they are. No one says nothing about that.
Oprah: So when did this start? When did your...when did the color of your skin start to change?
Michael: Oh boy, I don't....sometime after Thriller, around Off The Wall, Thriller, sometime around then.
Oprah: But what did you think?
Michael: It's in my family, my father said it's on his side. I can't control it, I don't understand. I mean it makes me very sad. I don't want to go into my medical history because that is private, but that's the situation here.
Oprah: So OK, I just want to get this straight, you are not
The following video clearly explains the same. Please take a look.
[youtube]vqmwls5FRjA[/youtube]
For people who still don't believe, take a look at Lee Thomas.
Black man turning white on television
For people who still don't believe, take a look at Lee Thomas.
Black man turning white on television
"I'm a black man turning white on television and people can see it," says Thomas, an anchor and entertainment reporter for the local Fox Broadcasting Company affiliate. "If you've watched me over the years, you've seen my hands completely change from brown to white."
"There is no cause. There is no cure, and it's very random," Thomas says. "I could turn all the way white or mostly white."
As many as 65 million people worldwide have the disorder, including up to 2 million in the United States.
Few people, outside medical professionals and those with the disease, had heard the term "vitiligo" until Michael Jackson revealed in the early 1990s that the disorder was behind his skin turning brown to white.
It is not fatal, but experts say vitiligo robs people of self-confidence, evokes ridicule and unpleasant stares, and pushes some into unforced seclusion.