№ 43 · TRIVIA
The Single Glove Was a Cover-Up
First worn at the 1980 American Music Awards
MICHAEL JACKSON
The King of Pop
★ RARE
← MICHAEL JACKSON
CARD N° 43 · TRIVIA · ★ RARE
The Single Glove Was a Cover-Up
First worn at the 1980 American Music Awards
№ 43 TRIVIA
The Single Glove Was a Cover-Up
The signature single sequined glove — the white right-hand glove that became Michael's most recognisable visual trademark — was originally a medical cover-up. He had developed vitiligo, an autoimmune skin condition that destroys pigment cells, beginning on his right hand. The glove hid the first depigmented patches.
▶ THE MOMENT
Michael Jackson — Single Glove debut, American Music Awards 1980
www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0BWlvnBmIE
MICHAEL JACKSON · B·SIDE · VOL.I
HOVER TO FLIP
THE FACT
The signature single sequined glove — the white right-hand glove that became Michael's most recognisable visual trademark — was originally a medical cover-up. He had developed vitiligo, an autoimmune skin condition that destroys pigment cells, beginning on his right hand. The glove hid the first depigmented patches.
WHAT MOST DON'T KNOW
Michael's vitiligo was confirmed at autopsy in 2009 by Los Angeles County Coroner Christopher Rogers, who noted heavy depigmentation across his face, chest and right hand. The condition had been visible in close-up photographs as early as 1979 but was never publicly explained until Michael's 1993 Oprah interview, where he denied bleaching his skin and confirmed the diagnosis. The single glove first appeared at the 1980 American Music Awards. By 1983 — Motown 25 — it had become deliberately theatrical, with custom-made sequined versions designed by his stylist Bill Whitten. Vitiligo progressed steadily through his career, eventually requiring full-body cosmetic treatment to maintain a uniform skin tone (which is why his skin appeared progressively lighter on television). His son Prince Jackson also has visible vitiligo. Modern medical literature on the condition often cites Michael as the most famous public case in history.
▶
THE MOMENT
Michael Jackson — Single Glove debut, American Music Awards 1980 — The first public appearance of the glove — three years before Motown 25.