Michael Jackson Rumors Debunked

Michael Jackson was long the target of many rumors during his brief lifetime. If you are looking to hear about the court trials or Michael's skin disease Vitiligo, please refer to earlier posts for detailed information and photographs.

Other rumors will be addressed here.

Q:Did Michael sleep in a hyperbaric chamber to make himself younger?

False. Michael was a frequent guest to many hospital wards over the years where he would stop to visit and cheer up patients or visit terminally ill children. On one visit, he saw a hyperbaric chamber and asked the doctor questions about it. He wanted to know what it felt like to be inside of it, so he climbed in. Someone snapped a shot and it went around the world and the rumor was born.

Q: Did Michael buy the elephant man's bones?
False. When asked this question during an interview, Michael got a hell of a kick out of it. Despite his eccentricities, Michael was intrigued by the rumor but wondered why people thought he would buy them or where he would put them if he had.

Q: Did Michael propose to Elizabeth Taylor?
Possibly. Elizabeth Taylor denied this in a somewhat sarcastic manner when asked, but given Michael's attachment to her, it's not altogether unbelievable.

Q: Was Michael a Jehovah's witness?
True. Not towards the end of his life, but as a child and up until his mid 20s. His mother is a devout Jehovah's witness and Michael himself went door-to-door (in a disguise) at times as a young man. During the Thriller era, Jehovah's Witnesses took issue with his Thriller video and did not want it released as they thought the images were satanic. This is the reason there is a written message at the beginning of the video in which Michael expresses that the video has nothing to do with his personal beliefs in the occult. Michael left the church and by all accounts was a great scholar of religion. He didn't chose a definitive one the rest of his life, but enjoyed learning about all different religions and would attend a Baptist Church one day and a Synagogue the next. There was a picture taken of Michael's bedroom in the 90s. There was a painting of Jesus above his bed.

Q: Was Michael's marriage to Lisa Marie real?
True. Lisa Marie never wavered on this, both in her statement relating to his death as well as through their marriage and the difficult and angry times afterwards. I used to own a wedding card that these two sent to their family and friends after the wedding. It was a secret wedding so the Jacksons weren't present, though secret marriages tend to be common in their family. The world found out through the judge who married them that blurted it out to the world a month after they tied the knot.

Q: Was Michael's father abusive?
True. Michael never went into great detail about the abuse, though he did acknowledge to Oprah Winfrey that his father beat him and he mentioned that his father used to tell him he was ugly. He also confided that he would become physically ill at the sight of his father even as an adult and used to throw up upon hearing that his dad was coming to visit him.

Q: Did Michael own a chimpanzee?
True. Bubbles the chimp was one of countless exotic animals Michael owned (others included giraffes, elephants, panthers, a crocodile, peacocks, rams, etc, though Michael oddly enough had a fear of dogs. This wasn't always true as he had guard dogs as a child). Bubbles was raised with Michael until he grew too big and became dangerous. He is still alive and being cared for outside the family. Michael was a huge animal-lover and among those who funded the release of Keiko, the whale from Free Willy. He was vegetarian most of his life, at 16 vowing not to eat meat. He cheated from time to time over the years.

Q: Did Michael have a flesh-eating disease?
False. This peculiar rumor appeared and vanished in the last months of Michael's life. Michael did have Vitiligo and Lupus.

Q: Did Michael have plastic surgery?
True. This one is sort of a no-brainer. Michael had multiple surgeries, the first on his nose which was practical and a medical procedure as he broke his nose upon falling on stage when he was 20. He had numerous nose jobs and a cleft put into his chin. Michael's siblings greatly teased him about his big nose as a child, probably adding to his insecurities physically. He also didn't want to see his father Joseph in the mirror.

Q: Did Michael invent the moonwalk?
Partly. According to Michael, the inspiration from the Moonwalk came from kids he saw in the ghetto, who did a certain version of it. He took their steps and added changes and developed the Moonwalk.

Q: Was Michael gay?
Michael never directly addressed this question, and it was never directly asked on an interview. Both of his ex-wives claim they had sexual relations with him. When Oprah asked him if he was a virgin, he laughed and blushed, claiming that he was a gentleman and didn't believe such things should be spoken about openly. Michael was known to have crushes on girls as a boy and growing up. Despite his androgenous look, no evidence ever came to light that he was gay. In fact, some friends and even fans claimed that Michael was quite fond of flirting and hitting on women, which can also be evidenced in clips of "Living With Michael Jackson" the documentary.

Q: Are Michael's kids really his?
You got me. Michael's father Joseph had red hair and green eyes as a young man. LaToya also has green eyes. Michael's daughter Paris and oldest son, Prince, definitely are at least partially Debbie Rowe's which can very easily be visually identified. Michael never revealed the source of who Prince Michael II (Blanket)'s mother was, though he does bear a slight resemblance to Michael by coincidence or truth. Michael never revealed any donor information. I imagine only a handful of people know the answer to this question.

Q: Why did Michael's kids wear masks?
Michael knew what it was to live life in the spotlight with a camera shoved in your face since he was a child. He never wanted his children to share that fate but always wanted to be a dad, even as a teenager. The masks served to shield his children from prying cameras. The media did not have an accurate idea of his children's faces so they were able to go out in public without masks and live more normal lives without being followed when not with their father. They didn't wear masks at home.

Q: Who was the female voice on 'In The Closet'?
Most people think it was Naomi Campbell as she was the girl in the video. It was actually Princess Stephanie of Monaco, who supposedly briefly dated Michael. Food for thought, you can also here Notorious B.I.G. rap with Michael on his song 'This Time Around' on the HIStory album and the girl having a steamy phone conversation with Janet Jackson on her Velvet Rope album is actually Lisa Marie Presley.



Q: Did Michael ever want to act?
Michael starred in many films, not only his own videos. He was in 'The Wiz', 'Captain Eo', 'Ghosts', 'Men In Black II', and 'Miss Castaway'. He was in talks to play Edgar Allan Poe in a film that never materialized and had a desire for parts that eventually went to Johnny Depp, including Edward Scissorhands and Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. Marlon Brando gave him a few acting lessons.

Q: Did Michael do any other types of art?
Michael did the storyboard illustrations for the movie 'Mars Attacks'. He also did some sketches for Walt Disney World. Michael also did voiceover work under a pseudonym for certain episodes of the Simpsons. He was an artist of all trades.

Feel free to add or send in more questions or rumors, we will dig up the answer.