The announcement of Michael Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, crashed the internet globally. A video of him rehearsing on stage surfaced online around the same time, shot around forty-eight hours before his death.

The King of Pop, a star once filled with explosive physical energy, appeared pale and diminished. That image raised an uncomfortable question: What was he eating?

Kevin McLin, a family friend and Jackson's former publicist, described a diet that sounded entirely reasonable.

"He was just careful about what he ate; just tried to be healthy," McLin told ABC News. "He ate turkey burgers, Chinese food, and a lot of vegetables. Jackson always tried to eat healthy stuff… He tried to stay away from red meat."

Mike LaPerruque, a security specialist who worked for Jackson between 2001 and 2008, echoed that view and added a layer of firsthand credibility.

"I always saw what they were eating, and it was always healthy — chicken, brown rice, vegetables. He was always eating healthy," LaPerruque stated, describing the meals Jackson and his children ate.

Although there is no written proof that Jackson was suffering from any eating disorder, the questioning from the media did not stop.

However, Randy Phillips, CEO of concert promoter AEG, told ABC News about a level of issues around Jackson's eating that went far beyond dietary restriction.

According to Phillips, a concert director had to cut Jackson's chicken breast for him. He also revealed that in the final week before Jackson's death, he had brought in a dedicated staff member for a single purpose.

"In the last week, I brought in someone whose sole purpose was to remind him to eat," Phillips said.

This information suggests Jackson had lost not just appetite, but the basic instinct to feed himself.

Lou Ferrigno, the bodybuilder and actor famous for playing the Hulk, who trained Jackson for the tour, confirmed the most intriguing data point of all. "He only ate once a day," Ferrigno shared during an interview on Good Morning America. He also said that Jackson was advised to take a lot of supplements to fill his nutritional gaps.

Ferrigno did note that Jackson was energetic during their sessions and appeared to be in shape. He attributed the singer's lean frame partly to the enormous stress of tour preparation.

The Lifelong Battle Michael Jackson Never Spoke About

The rehearsal footage was haunting, but Jackson's complicated relationship with food was far from new.

Katherine Jackson, Michael's mother, was also very vocal about his lack of interest in food. In the memoir, My Family, the Jacksons, she recalled that even as a child, Michael was a picky eater and would be the only one in the family to turn down a hot-fudge sundae.

In his 1988 autobiography Moonwalk, Jackson himself admitted, "I changed my diet and stopped eating beef, chicken, pork, and fish, as well as certain fattening foods. I just wanted to look better, live better, and be healthier. I'm a vegetarian now, and I'm so much thinner."

Jackson's personal nutritionist, Cherilyn Lee, also gave a similar picture of his appetite and eating habits."His whole thing was that he didn't really want to eat food." Lee did say he enjoyed trail mix for energy and had an occasional craving for fried chicken.

There may not be a record of the inner workings of the King of Pop's mind at the end of his life. But his peers provide a glimpse into the stress that stardom burdened Michael Jackson with.

His family also sheds light on the singer's eating habits and preferences. Possibly all of it and much more culminated in the gaunt visage people saw just before Michael's death.

Follow Bodybuilding Bros for all things fitness!

Written by

Proma Chatterjee

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit