In its August 1985 issue, Ebony magazine featured a “Blacks and the Future” spread, where they predicted Michael Jackson would age gracefully into a handsome, mature man by the year 2000. Created by artist Nathan Wright, the portrait depicted a 40-year-old Jackson with natural features, a far cry from his actual appearance in 2000.
Key Details of the 1985 Prediction:
- Source: Ebony Magazine, August 1985 issue (“What They May Look Like In The Year 2000”).
- The Prediction: The article predicted Jackson would look, “handsome [and] more mature” at age 40, expecting him to “age gracefully”.
- Artist: Chicago artist Nathan Wright designed the portraits for the feature.
- Context: This was part of a larger, optimistic feature about Black celebrities in the year 2000, as shown in this Facebook post.
- Reality: The prediction proved inaccurate due to the significant, well-documented changes in Jackson’s appearance, including skin lightening from vitiligo and plastic surgeries.
The publication, often referenced in nostalgic pop culture retrospectives, was a “playful feature” that showed a significantly different, more conventional, and natural look than the one fans saw in 2000, says a post on
