Have you ever witnessed the sheer excellence of someone who can walk into a room and freeze time itself? For seven seasons, our screens were graced with the embodiment of poise and allure in the form of Don Draper, a character who does more than just sell a product—he sells a dream, an era soaked in charm. But behind the debonair façade, portrayed by the inimitable Jon Hamm, lies a shocking twist of fate.
Imagine waking up to your own flesh treating you as a stranger, with capricious blotches breaking the canvas of your skin—this is the reality for those touched by vitiligo. Sadly, Hamm faced this reality amidst the success of the Mad Men series.
According to his candid chat with THR, Hamm shared the jolt of having vitiligo, a condition that disproportionately throws a harsher spotlight on the Black community due to the stark contrast with melanin-rich skin.
This may surprise you, but it was reminiscent of the vulnerability Michael Jackson displayed during his 1993 sit-down, putting a face to the struggles of living with vitiligo.
Insights into Jon Hamm’s Scary Medical Condition
In the fast-paced world of Tinseltown, image is everything…at least to some extent. For Missouri-born actor Jon Hamm, 53, his role as the suave and debonair Don Draper on AMC’s Mad Men catapulted him into the spotlight, but it also brought along an unexpected challenge. Yes, a scary media condition called vitiligo.
Waking up one day to find patches of depigmentation on your skin—Hamm described the moment he discovered the white spots on his chin, and hands as feeling like someone had dropped bleach on him. It was a shock to him, especially as an actor whose appearance is a crucial part of his job. He told THR:
It’s waxed and waned. It’s a pigmentation thing. Michael Jackson had it. It affects the Black community significantly more because you have melanin in your skin and it goes away. But I remember waking up one day while shooting the pilot, and it looked like someone had dropped bleach on my chin.
While visiting various specialists, Hamm encountered a reality that many in the “Black community” face: vitiligo is a condition where the contrast between affected and non-affected areas is more pronounced due to higher levels of melanin in the skin. He said:
I went to see a couple of doctors, and they were like, ‘You can try this cream. We don’t really have a solution. But you’re white, it’s probably fine’.
His story highlights a significant point—though it strikes individuals regardless of race, the experience can differ vastly. As he steered the challenges of managing his condition, he couldn’t help but draw parallels to another iconic figure who also struggled with vitiligo—Michael Jackson.
Behind the Glove: Michael Jackson’s Fight with Vitiligo
Michael Jackson, the luminary whose dance moves had the world moonwalking alongside him, opened up about his battle with vitiligo in a candid interview with Oprah Winfrey in 1993.
In an industry where the spotlight often eclipses one’s personal struggles, the King of Pop, who passed away in 2009, courageously confronted the rumors by speaking honestly about his skirmish with Vitiligo.
I have a skin disorder the pigmentation of my skin. It is something I cannot help. When people make up stories that I don’t want to be who I am, it hurts me. It’s a problem for me. I can’t control it. But what about all the millions of people who sit in the sun to become darker, to become other than what they are?
He denied ever bleaching his skin and continued, saying it runs in his family and that he “can not control it”, which “makes me very sad”. As per the University of Massachusetts’ study in 2016, Jackson topped the charts not only with his hits but also as the most queried term in association with vitiligo, propelling this often-misunderstood condition into the limelight.
Can you fathom the pressure of transforming under the watchful eye of the world? Indeed, Jackson’s heartfelt clarity resonated with the masses, becoming a beacon of education and empathy. And in the words of the wise, it’s not about the cards you’re dealt, but how you play your hand.
Mad Men can be rented on Apple TV.
