The Truth About Michael Jackson’s Changing Skin Color
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 817 Ratings
🗓️ 21 August 2025
⏱️ 8 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, Michael Jackson’s career made him one of the most recognizable and most scrutinized people on the planet. As his fame grew, so did the attention on his appearance, especially his skin color. What the public saw was a dramatic lightening over time. What they didn’t know was that Jackson was living with vitiligo, a medical condition that strips the skin of its pigment. Simon Whistler, from the Today I Found Out podcast, shares the story of how the disease shaped Jackson’s look and his life.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:14.1 | This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people. |
| 0:21.5 | Coming to you from the City of Weather West begins, Fort Worth, Texas. |
| 0:25.8 | Michael Jackson's story is one of immense musical talent, global stardom, and significant |
| 0:31.0 | controversy. |
| 0:32.2 | You're to tell the story about why Michael Jackson's skin color changed as he aged is Simon Whistler from the Today I Found |
| 0:40.5 | out YouTube channel and its sister, The Brain Food Show podcast. Let's take a listen. |
| 0:47.7 | There was a story about you wanting to have a little white boy play you in a Pepsi |
| 0:53.7 | commercial. That is so stupid. |
| 0:56.0 | That's the most ridiculous, horrifying story I've ever heard. |
| 1:00.0 | It's crazy. |
| 1:01.0 | I mean, why? |
| 1:02.0 | Number one, it's my face as a child in the commercial. |
| 1:05.0 | Me, when I was little. |
| 1:06.0 | Why would I want a white child to play me? |
| 1:08.0 | I'm a black American. |
| 1:10.0 | I'm proud to be a black American. |
| 1:11.6 | I am proud of my race. I am proud of who I am. I have a lot of pride and who I am in dignity. |
| 1:17.6 | That's like you wanted an oriental person to play you as a child. Does that make sense? No. |
| 1:22.6 | Many scandals marred Michael Jackson's personal life overshadowing his otherwise remarkable musical career. |
| 1:30.3 | One such scandal was the obvious change in his appearance, especially his skin color, which started from the mid-80s to slowly but surely turn from dark to white. |
| 1:40.3 | So when did the color of your skin start to change? |
... |
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