The release of Michael Jackson’s biopic has reignited debates about one of the darkest chapters in Pop’s Rei’s life. Entre the themes that resurface is the accusation that his father, Joe Jackson, had subjected his son to hormonal treatment to maintain his high voice — a practice that, if true, would leave deep marks on the artist.
The allegation gained ground in 2011, when French researcher Alain Branchereau, professor of vascular surgery at Marselha’s Timone hospital, stated in his book “The Secret of a Voice” that Michael “unknowingly suffered a chemical castration between the ages of 12 and 20”. Branchereau based its conclusion on medical documents, including the singer’s autopsy.
What the doctors say about the case
Branchereau acknowledged in his analysis that Michael’s genitals “were perfectly normal and [he] was fit for sexual intercourse.” Porém, argued that the artist “was deprived not only of his childhood, but also of his adolescence, which necessarily had psychological repercussions”.
The suspected medication would be an acne medication. Essa hypothesis gains weight when compared with reports from Michael’s own autobiography, which mentioned suffering from severe acne from the age of 12. The singer’s own personal doctor, Conrad Murray — convicted of manslaughter in Michael’s death — addressed the issue in his book “This Is It! The Secret Lives of Dr. Conrad Murray and Michael Jackson”, released in 2016. Murray accused Joe Jackson of forcing Michael to take hormone injections from the age of 12 under the guise of curing pimples and preventing vocal changes.
Michael Jackson’s extraordinary vocal ability seemed to confirm the theory for some experts:
- Capacidade ability to cover three octaves, while great tenors only reach two
- Manutenção with characteristic high-pitched voice from childhood to adulthood
- Controle unusual vocal for a grown man
- Particularidade acoustics rarely seen in other male singers
The emotional cost of a family secret
Michael Jackson has never publicly confirmed having undergone chemical castration. Mesmo thus, those who knew him say that the issue tormented him. Sharon Carpenter, journalist who produced the documentary “Forever the King: A Tribute to Michael Jackson”, gave a revealing interview to the website Daily Star. Ela was in the hospital the day of the singer’s death in 2009 and spoke with Joe Jackson three days later.
“Do you think Michael Jackson has forgiven Joe for what he did to him? Não I know if forgiveness is the right word, but trying to get over it is probably the best way to explain it,” Carpenter revealed. The journalist was blunt when evaluating the relationship between father and son: she believed that Joe had never genuinely loved Michael.
Michael Jackson’s family context did not favor benefit of the doubt for Joe. The businessman maintained a routine of various abuses with all the children who were part of Jackson 5. The recent biopic, which features his nephew Jaafar Jackson in the title role, once again sparked interest in the topic and generated different reactions within the star’s own family.
The practice of castratis: history that may have repeated itself
Castrating singers to preserve high voices is an ancient practice. Men undergoing this procedure were called castratis. Relatos of this practice has existed since the 16th century, continuing until the 19th century.
Itália was the main epicenter of this tradition. The procedure became so accepted that Papa Clemente III authorized castratis to sing in Capela Sistina choirs in 1599—despite Igreja Católica considering amputation illegal for any purpose other than saving lives. Igreja itself motivated the practice: Papa Sisto V had prohibited women from singing in public in the 16th century. With castration carried out at the age of 8, boys maintained high voices and were able to play the roles of sopranos and contraltos, preserving the vocal arrangements of the operas.
The practice lasted for centuries until 1870, when Itália finally banned it. The last known castrati was Alessandro Moreschi, an Italian opera singer who died in 1922 — 36 years before Michael Jackson was born. Sua’s death marked the end of an era in European classical music.