Michael lived with vitiligo

For years Michael was accused of bleaching his skin to make himself appear white.

The pop icon always denied the accusations, telling Oprah Winfrey that he was living with the skin condition vitiligo.

He said: "It is something I cannot help. When people make up stories that I don't want to be who I am, it hurts me. It's a problem for me. I can't control it. But what about all the millions of people who sit in the sun to become darker, to become other than what they are. Nobody says nothing about that." Following his 2009 passing and subsequent autopsy, medical authorities discovered that he did indeed suffer vitiligo, a skin disorder characterized by the lack of pigmentation, which was the reason for his skin being lightened.