Michael Jackson's brother Marlon has revealed that the Thriller hitmaker would wear a range of bizarre disguises to stay under the radar.
Marlon was a member of the Jackson 5 and is the sixth child of the Jackson family. In a recent interview, he opened up about how difficult it was to go about their day-to-day lives at the height of their fame.
This was especially the case for Michael, who went on to become one of the most successful entertainers of all time.
Marlon, 64, told The Guardian: "Michael had painted himself into a box. And it was difficult for him. Very difficult for him. It’s mind-boggling.
"If Michael just stepped outside, in a couple of seconds people would stop doing what they are doing. That’s why he started wearing disguises."
Michael's older brother then explained that he once saw the King of Pop in a record store in full disguise, saying: "I walked up behind him and whispered in his ear: 'Michael, what you doing here?' He was dressed as a bum.
"His clothes were dirty, he had bucked teeth, he had an afro, his shoes were dirty, his shirt was torn, but he’s buying all these excellent records.
"I said to him: 'Another thing gave you away, Michael, you wear the same shoes all the time!' They were the same loafers he wore on stage."
Later on in the interview, Marlon was questioned about his late brother's extensive plastic surgery procedures. When asked whether the Billie Jean star "loved himself enough", Marlon replied: "Yes, I think so."
The Jackson 5 singer was then asked whether it "upset" him that his brother altered his appearance to such a significant degree.
Marlon responded: "No, it didn’t upset me because I look at it this way: the Lord put us on this earth to love one another, not to judge each other, and he wasn’t harming anybody. It was his body, and he did what he wanted to do to be what he wanted to look like.
"When you get to the gates and the Lord is there, he’s going to judge you not by what you obtained for yourself, or not what you did to yourself, he’s going to judge you by what you did for others. Judge someone by their heart."
