Michael Jackson's autopsy revealed harrowing tattoo detail
It's been 16 years since we lost the King of Pop
Michael Jackson is the undoubted King of Pop, but the magical musician's legacy has been somewhat tarnished since his death.
The Billie Jean singer passed away back in 2009 at the age of just 50 after suffering a lethal overdose of the powerful anaesthetic propofol.
Even 16 years on, his three children have not seen any of their £85m inheritance as a legal battle over the performer's estate continues, although we will hear more about the performer's life in the upcoming 2026 biopic Michael.
Since his death, we've seen a lot of allegations surface about the legendary performer, particularly in the shocking 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland, where Wade Robson and James Safechuck claimed they were sexually abused by Jackson when they were children.
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A second instalment of the documentary was released earlier this year, revealing some more disturbing allegations about the musician and the goings-on at his former estate, Neverland Ranch.
There was also a lot of speculation that the musician had undergone cosmetic surgery to change his skin colour, which also had a huge impact on his standing in society.
But this was actually due to the rare skin condition vitiligo, something he spoke about before his death.
Jackson said: "I'm a Black American. I am proud to be a Black American. I am proud of my race, and I am proud of who I am. I have a lot of pride and dignity of who I am.
"This is the situation, I have a skin disorder that destroys the pigmentation of the skin. It is something I cannot help, OK? But when people make up stories that I don’t want to be what I am it hurts me … It’s a problem for me that I can’t control.”
Jackson's vitiligo was confirmed post-mortem in his autopsy, which also revealed several details regarding the tattoos he'd had done later in his life.
Perhaps the strangest cosmetic surgery the singer had undergone was to permanently tattoo his lips in a pink shade.
However, this wasn't his only facial tattoo, as he also curiously had his eyebrows tattooed black, as well as the front portion of his scalp, which was seemingly done to create a seamless transition with his hairline.
The tattoos weren't all that were discovered after his death, as he also weighed just 8st 10oz and his body was covered in curious scars and bruises, including ones on his knees, shins and scalp.
It was also shockingly revealed that he was wearing a wig, with his luscious black locks simply stuck to his head, with nothing but peach fuzz underneath.
An insider familiar with the singer revealed to The Sun: "He was skin and bone, his hair had fallen out, and he had been eating nothing but pills when he died.
"Injection marks all over his body and the disfigurement caused by years of plastic surgery show he'd been in terminal decline for some years."
Jackson obviously cared a lot about his body image and was clearly struggling a lot shortly before his death, with his health issues and overdose sadly robbing the world of history's greatest performers.
Topics: Michael Jackson, Health
James Moorhouse