News
Michael Jackson dies at 50, apparently of cardiac arrest; many health rumors circulate, include Alpha-1 lung disease
Time.com
“King of Pop” Michael Jackson died Thursday, apparently of cardiac arrest. Hundreds of fans gathered around UCLA Medical Center, where Jackson, 50, had been rushed. reportedly after collapsing at home.
Jackson’s sudden death raised immediate questions about the singer’s health history. Last December, a British journalist working on a biography of the pop star claimed that Jackson was suffering from Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, a genetic condition that affects the lungs and liver.
The author, Ian Halperin, told In Touch magazine at the time that Jackson needed a lung transplant and was bleeding in the intestines. He also claimed that Jackson couldn’t see out of his left eye and was so winded that he could barely speak most of the time. Jackson’s spokesperson, Dr. Tohme Tohme, denied the claim about Alpha-1, saying that the rumors were a “total fabrication” and that Jackson was “in fine health.”
But little is known about Jackson’s medical record, which has always been a mystery, characterized largely by rumors and speculation — which sometimes seemed just the way he wanted it.
In the fishbowl world he inhabited — since 1997, with his three young children, Prince Michael I, Paris Michael and Prince Michael II — Jackson has managed to spark, then dodge, questions surrounding his various health problems. Much of time, the superstar behind hits such as Beat It, Thriller and Billie Jean appeared to invite speculation, appearing in public wearing surgical masks, as he did a decade ago, or in a wheelchair, which he used on certain occasions last year.
The singer was always very thin and appeared frail.
