Prince Jackson Details Dad Michael Jackson’s “Insecurity” About Vitiligo Skin Condition

Prince Jackson is reflecting on his late father's personal struggles.

Specifically, the 26-year-old recalled Michael Jackson's insecurity over his vitiligo, a condition which causes the skin to lose color of pigmentation. 

"When I was younger, he was always explaining to me, speaking about that," Prince remembered during an Aug. 30 appearance on Mike Tyson's podcast Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson. "I think it was even in the autopsy report. I think the cause of it is up for speculation, but it's either vitiligo or some form of lupus which contributed to the vitiligo."

He continued, "He had a lot of insecurity around, kind of looking blotchy in his appearance. So he wanted to see if he could smooth out his appearance, to help with his security on his physical appearance." 

Later, Prince shared the ways he's still learning about his dad, who passed away at the age of 50 in 2009, when Prince was 12. 

"He was very interesting," he said. "Personally, I'm doing a lot of research on him and learning a lot about his story. And there's so much to cover."

Recently, Prince and his 21-year-old brother Bigi Jackson—who used to be known by the nickname Blanket—attended the Michael Jackson Blue Sapphire Birthday Celebration on Aug. 29 in honor of what would have been the King of Pop's 65th birthday. 

Prince marked the occasion with a tribute to Michael on Instagram, writing alongside a throwback image of himself, Bigi, their sister Paris Jackson and their dad, "Happy birthday dad. I miss you and I love you. You may be gone but not forgotten. You're in our hearts each and every day."

For her part, Paris recently defended her decision to not post for her dad's birthday, after she said social media users criticized her for it. 

"So today is my dad's birthday and back when he was alive, he used to hate anybody acknowledging his birthday," Paris began in an Instagram video shared Aug. 29. "He actually didn't want us to even know when his birthday was because he didn't want us to throw a party or anything like that."

"That being said, social media is apparently how people express their love and affection these days," she continued, "and if you don't wish someone a happy birthday via social media, it apparently means that you don't love them and you don't care about them. There have been times where I don't post anything for my dad's birthday and people lose their f--king minds."

The 25-year-old—who is a musician herself and recently began touring with Incubus in July—captioned the post, "Please don't use a man you have never met as an excuse to abuse, manipulate, and harass his daughter (who you also have never met)."