# Why are Michael Jackson's kids white? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 1, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201 "2010-02-01T03:49:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/41 "2010-02-02T04:28:03Z")
> [@statsman1982](#): > > I don’t think Prince and Paris are biologically his. Blanket I think is. I dunno about Paris, but you can see the resemblance in Prince in the chin and mouth. Prince and Blanket are his. Paris? Meh. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/42 "2010-02-02T04:35:57Z")
I can see Blanket as his. Prince kinda does. Paris, for being the age she is, is a very pretty girl…she will be a looker when she gets older. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/43 "2010-02-02T05:07:02Z")
Furthermore, MJ had his first nose job after he fell from a stage out of necessity. It’s possible he wasn’t able to breathe correctly out of the reconstructed nose… and thus started his association with plastic surgery. I don’t doubt that he had some degree of body dysmorphic disorder, though. Joe Jackson called him “Big Nose.” :rolleyes: :mad: ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/44 "2010-02-02T05:57:29Z")
I always wondered why, if he was going to choose a skin color to stick with with regard to his vitiligo, he picked white. It seemed easier to me to darken skin with a stain (even a temporary one) than to try to bleach it. My teens were shocked last night watching the Grammys when I pointed out Nicole Ritchie’s father. “But, he’s black! How is he black?!” They had no idea she had any reason for being well-known besides being Paris Hilton’s bud. ---
**Author:** ![RhapsodyInBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RhapsodyInBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RhapsodyInBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/45 "2010-02-02T06:04:39Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > My teens were shocked last night watching the Grammys when I pointed out Nicole Ritchie’s father. “But, he’s black! How is he black?!” They had no idea she had any reason for being well-known besides being Paris Hilton’s bud. Nicole Richie was Lionel’s adopted daughter. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/46 "2010-02-02T06:21:13Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I always wondered why, if he was going to choose a skin color to stick with with regard to his vitiligo, he picked white. It seemed easier to me to darken skin with a stain (even a temporary one) than to try to bleach it. You’re right when most of you is still black and you just have white spots- which Michael did. There are pictures of him with “black” makeup sweating off, showing big white spots on his neck (think the Off the Wall era). [Here.](http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/1244/tri114db66bud8.jpg) And [here.](http://floacist.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/175.jpg?w=600) Then, when more of him became white, I imagine it became more practical to cover the black with white. Notice later in his life: [here](http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/4558/vit1qc1.jpg) and [here](http://floacist.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/tdcau-1.jpg?w=600), [here,](http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/9214/017bx0.jpg), [here](http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/49/022bj1.jpg) and [here](http://floacist.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/000michaeljacksontributecelebutopiacd2009000-226.jpg?w=600). ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/47 "2010-02-02T06:42:39Z")
> [@RhapsodyInBlue](#): > > Nicole Richie was Lionel’s adopted daughter. But she is still half black, even though Lionel isn’t her dad. Black and hispanic, I think. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/48 "2010-02-02T06:43:36Z")
> [@RhapsodyInBlue](#): > > Nicole Richie was Lionel’s adopted daughter. Nicole Richie is a luscious Latina. Yowwza! But baby, you got to eat something… put some salsa on that chip. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/49 "2010-02-02T07:07:22Z")
> [@RhapsodyInBlue](#): > > Nicole Richie was Lionel’s adopted daughter. What??? I had really better get up to date on my celebrity knowledge! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/50 "2010-02-02T07:15:59Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > You’re right when most of you is still black and you just have white spots- which Michael did. There are pictures of him with “black” makeup sweating off, showing big white spots on his neck (think the Off the Wall era). [Here.](http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/1244/tri114db66bud8.jpg) And [here.](http://floacist.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/175.jpg?w=600) > > Then, when more of him became white, I imagine it became more practical to cover the black with white. Notice later in his life: [here](http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/4558/vit1qc1.jpg) and [here](http://floacist.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/tdcau-1.jpg?w=600), [here,](http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/9214/017bx0.jpg), [here](http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/49/022bj1.jpg) and [here](http://floacist.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/000michaeljacksontributecelebutopiacd2009000-226.jpg?w=600). Did he actually bleach his skin, or did it just eventually all fade to pale? I had always understood skin bleaches to be not very effective, except for the very toxic ones. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/51 "2010-02-02T07:57:52Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Did he actually bleach his skin, or did it just eventually all fade to pale? I had always understood skin bleaches to be not very effective, except for the very toxic ones. That’s my understanding as well (that they aren’t all that effective unless you’re willing to basically kill yourself). So, I don’t personally think he went through any extreme bleaching measures or anything. I’m sure he got the same treatment that any well-off person with vitiligo would have- the best treatments available, whether new bleaching creams or whatever. If he did try to lighten his spots, I can’t say I’d blame him (and I don’t hate black people either). I should say, of course, that no one knows for sure but Michael and his doctors. As should be the case, honestly. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/52 "2010-02-02T12:37:02Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Did he actually bleach his skin, or did it just eventually all fade to pale? I had always understood skin bleaches to be not very effective, except for the very toxic ones. That’s still a question. His vitiligo was clearly progressive over his lifetime, so more and more of him was fading to white. One of the baggers at my local grocery store has vitiligo (he’s of hispanic descent, so it’s not quite so glaring) and he’s bone-white from his hands to his elbows. Once told me it started as spots on the back of his hands and just spread. Jackson, as I said, clearly had “spreading” vitiligo. So the later in life you look at him the more he is “naturally” white due to the disease. The areas of skin depigmented by vitiligo no longer have natural sunburn protection. People with the disorder are encouraged to stay out of the sun and wear sunscreen to prevent skin cancer - Jackson _certainly_ did that, both by covering up with clothes and by using a parasol. Dark skinned people who stay out of the sun will, naturally, lose some coloration so by avoiding the sun so diligently Jackson’s unaffected skin would become lighter than it would be if he was exposed to UV on a regular basis. We don’t normally associate the word “tanning” with black people, but their skin does darken in response to sunlight, even if it may not be as noticeable as in white people, and likewise they can lose their tans, it’s just that their baseline shade is darker than some other peoples’. With vitiligo there is the option to either cover the pale spots with makeup to make them look colored, or cover the remaining pigmented skin with makeup to make it look pale. There is photographic evidence Jackson did _both_ - using dark makeup when younger and light makeup when older. Without question the man wore a _lot_ of makeup most of the time. All of the above could account for his appearance, really. But another option for advance/extreme vitiligo is to chemically bleach the remaining pigment to make the person all one shade. This is considered a legitimate treatment option. Under such circumstances, the “very toxic” skin bleaches may be used _under medical supervision_ to achieve that result, and done properly, the risk to the person is minimal. There are some less toxic creams that can temporarily lighten skin as well, but, again, they really need doctor supervision and can certainly cause problems as well. However, Jackson seemed a bit of a health fanatic in some respects and, given the lengths he went to in order to deal with it otherwise, I doubt he went that route. As far as I’m concerned, clothing, staying out of the sun, and make up accounts for his appearance (that, and too much surgery on his face) although, of course, that’s only my opinion. I’m not a dermatologist and I’m certainly not privy to Jackson’s medical records. Which, really, is at should be - the man’s medical problems should be just as private as anyone else’s. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/53 "2010-02-02T15:03:43Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Either they are Jackson’s kids who, due to a white mother and they way genetics work, wound up with paler skin than their father > > - or - > > They aren’t Jackson’s biological kids but he is their _legal_ father and is, essentially, an adoptive parent. > > Either way, he’s their father. > > His family seems to entirely accept these children as part of the family. Granted, there is some dysfunctional crap in that family, but that’s true of a LOT of families. I see no evidence the children are being abused, neglected, or taken advantage of. Yes, the estate wound up in court - big surprise - but the children are being provided for by people who apparently give a damn about them. Plus, they’ve lost their parent. Really, I feel kind of sorry for the kids, because they’ll go through life being told their parent isn’t _really_ there parent at all. Which is pretty horrible. Well, we don’t know if their parent, who is their parent, or not, is their parent. You are putting too much onto the parent ‘think of the children’ aspect. It doesn’t matter if he’s the father is true-but, in the larger picture, they are rich, with money left them by Michael Jackson: They don’t care what you or I say about them-they are rich. If you walk up to them and say “Michael Jackson WAS your father!” they will have their bodyguards haul you off and give you a really good skin treatment. They don’t need, or want your/my pity or approval. The rich never do. I wonder who the father is. The genetic dice don’t roll \*that \*far, IMHO. hh ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/54 "2010-02-02T15:07:50Z")
A man who adopts children IS the father… even if he is not a biological father. I’m sorry you don’t understand that. Yes, they’re rich. That doesn’t mean the kids don’t have feelings. You’re wondering who the sperm donor is - it’s a matter of legal record who the _father_ is. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/55 "2010-02-02T15:22:01Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > A man who adopts children IS the father… even if he is not a biological father. I’m sorry you don’t understand that. > > Yes, they’re rich. That doesn’t mean the kids don’t have feelings. > > You’re wondering who the sperm donor is - it’s a matter of legal record who the _father_ is. DID he adopt them? If he professes to be the natural father, then why did he adopt them? Has he done the legal procedure for adoption? In many locations, the sperm donor is the legal/biological father. You have an awfully lot invested in the saga: I don’t mean that there is anything wrong with them, and I truly didn’t want to hurt your feelings. I never said that they don’t have feelings. I am saying that they, like most uber wealthy, aren’t hurt by what mere commoners think, speculate, or say. hh ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/56 "2010-02-02T16:49:03Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > DID he adopt them? If he professes to be the natural father, then why did he adopt them? Has he done the legal procedure for adoption? In many locations, the sperm donor is the legal/biological father. And in many locations the husband of the woman who gives birth to the baby is the presumptive and legal father whether or not he is the sperm donor. As it is my understanding that Jackson was legally married at the time Debbie Rowe gave birth to Prince and Paris, therefore, in many if not most places Jackson would be the legal father whether or not he was the actual sperm donor. Blanket’s status…? I don’t know. However, no one ever contested that the kid’s were legally Jackson’s in his lifetime, and they are his legal heirs. > [@](#): > > You have an awfully lot invested in the saga: I don’t mean that there is anything wrong with them, and I truly didn’t want to hurt your feelings. I live in Gary, Indiana. Some of Jackson’s cousins and other relatives are my neighbors and live only a few blocks from where I do. Does that explain why I might have thought about this more than the average person? You aren’t going to hurt _my_ feelings over this… but your assumption that the children involved are somehow immune to hurt feelings is puzzling at best to me. > [@](#): > > I never said that they don’t have feelings. I am saying that they, like most uber wealthy, aren’t hurt by what mere commoners think, speculate, or say. Right - having it in the tabloids and a common topic of gossip pretty near everywhere couldn’t _possibly_ have and effect on them… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/57 "2010-02-02T17:04:04Z")
For health and genetic reasons alone, I think it is important that the kids should know who their biological father is. If it is Arnold Klein then there is a host of possible [genetic diseases](http://www.mazornet.com/genetics/) that could come with that parentage. Likewise, if the biological parent is Michael they might inherit vitiligo, which may be linked to thyroid disease in that family. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/58 "2010-02-02T17:25:25Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > For health and genetic reasons alone, I think it is important that the kids should know who their biological father is. If it is Arnold Klein then there is a host of possible [genetic diseases](http://www.mazornet.com/genetics/) that could come with that parentage. Likewise, if the biological parent is Michael they might inherit vitiligo, which may be linked to thyroid disease in that family. Prince has spots all over his hands and neck in various pictures, so it’s very likely that he, too, has vitiligo. Nothing conclusive, of course, because frankly, we shouldn’t be pouring over the photos of a little boy, demanding his medical records, and looking for a psychologically and physically debilitating skin disease that pretty much ruined his father’s life. Just some random photos from a Google search though, which I suppose could be anything from vitiligo to a lensflare (though you clearly know what I think it is): [Here](http://glossymagazine.ro/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/prince-michael-jr-vitiligo-03.jpg) or [here](http://glossymagazine.ro/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/prince-michael-jr-vitiligo-02.jpg) or [or here](http://glossymagazine.ro/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2mo5r8y1.jpg). I’m surprised so many people think Jackson was so quick to want to change his skin color and instead, attack and deny he had a legitimate disease. Don’t you ever wonder why he wore one glove? His vitiligo started on his hands, neck, and face. That’s why he wore the sparkly glove, because your hand sweats too much to cover the spots with makeup. Later on, in the Bad through Dangerous eras, Michael would wear tape on his finger tips (tiny 5 year old me used to run through the house with taped up fingers, trying to copy him)-- why? Because even though his hands had fully turned white, his nail beds hadn’t. Well into the very end of his life, Michael Jackson still had darker nail beds. My understanding is that people with vitiligo very commonly turn white everywhere but their nail beds. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/59 "2010-02-02T17:45:36Z")
Frankly, I think you are seeing what you want and expect to see in those pictures…I’m not convinced. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/60 "2010-02-02T17:47:15Z")
Yeah, I don’t really see any resemblance between him and the kids. They’re in the same poses for some of them but they look nothing alike to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201.md?page=4)