Tuesday December 23, 2008

Michael Jackson has blasted an author’s claim he is suffering from a rare lung condition.

Ian Halperin – who is writing a new biography on the Thriller hitmaker – said that Jackson, 50, had been diagnosed with Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, an occasionally fatal genetic condition.

“He’s had it for years but it’s gotten worse,” Halperin said. “He needs a lung transplant but may be too weak to go through with it.

“He also has emphysema and chronic gastrointestinal bleeding, which his doctors have had a lot of trouble stopping.

“It’s the bleeding that is the most problematic part. It could kill him.”

Halperin also claimed that Jackson “can barely speak” and is having trouble seeing. “The vision in his left eye is 95 percent gone,” he said.

But a statement released by Jackson’s “official and sole spokesperson, Dr. Tohme Tohme” has branded the claims a “total fabrication”.

The statement reads, “Concerning this author’s allegations, we would hope in the future that legitimate media will not continue to be exploited by such an obvious attempt to promote this unauthorized ‘biography.’

“The writer’s wild allegations concerning Mr. Jackson’s health are a total fabrication. Mr. Jackson is in fine health, and finalizing negotiations with a major entertainment company & television network for both a world tour and a series of specials and appearances.”