American superstar, citizen of the world, best selling artist of the millennium, king of pop, these are just a few of many titles Jackson was awarded in his lifetime. After his shocking and sudden death Jackson instantly became a musical legend. Here are the top 10 most interesting facts of his life.

1.

Michael Jackson was physically and emotionally abused as a child. His father, Joseph Walter Jackson was as a Jehovah’s Witness and believer of a tough love discipline. He punished and abused Michael for as long as he could remember by name calling, whipping and forcing the young boy  to endure never-ending rehearsals for their all boy band “Jackson 5”. In his appearance on “Oprah Winfrey interview” Jackson recalled the incidents of his father’s punishments sessions, and the long lasting aftermath impacts it had on him. Like when Joseph climbed into Michaels’s bedroom window wearing a fright mask, screaming and shouting, in order to teach him to lock bedroom windows before going to sleep. Long after the incident Jackson developed nightmares of being kidnapped from his bedroom.  When Jackson was asked on how he co-opted with abuse, he cried and admitted to feeling depressed, lonely and robbed off his childhood by his abusive father. He recalled vomiting when he saw his father holding his belt, for it was often used to whip his for disobeying.

2.

Upon joining his other siblings in their group Jackson 5, Jackson frequently performed in “black night” while being on tour. One of his most vivid memories from that time was that the group would often serve as an opening act for stripteases and other adult acts.

3.

Throughout his lifetime Jackson admitted to having 4 rhinoplasty surgeries. The first one occurred in 1979, while Jackson was rehearsing a complex dance routine. His second surgery was the result of severe complication from the first surgery, he admitted to difficulty breathing that affected his music career. The third surgery  occurred when Jackson suffered substantial second degree burns, while shooting commercial for Pepsi Co. The fourth and final rhinoplasty took place while shooting for sci-fi movie “Captain EO”, Jackson admitted to wanting more masculine face, he also added cleft to his chin.

4.

In 1986 tabloids ran the story that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber in order to slow the aging process. Although Jackson himself never admitted to the story, instead claiming that the picture, which at that time was circling the media sources was the promotion for his upcoming sci-fi movie. Jackson’s manager confirmed Jackson’s frequent use of   hyperbaric oxygen chamber for his aggravated skin condition. He never addressed the rumours of Jackson actually sleeping in it.

5.

Born from African-American descent, Jackson’s skin was medium- brown during his youth years. However as time went by, his skin was getting paler and paler. Media speculated that Jackson did not like the color of his skin, and wanted to “become white”. However, those speculations were dismissed when Jackson went public about his ongoing battle with vitiligo and lupus. Combination of the experimental treatment with makeup, to cover uneven blotches on his skin made him look as white as a ghost.  He later developed a habit of wearing a mask in public to cover his decaying face from the spying lens of paparazzi.