Michael Jackson claimed he'd been given injections at 13 to delay puberty and keep voice high

Dr Conrad Murray, the man authorities in the US blamed for the King of Pop’s death says Jacko claimed he was given injections to delay puberty

Michael Jackson allegedly told his personal physician he was given hormone injections when he was 13 to delay puberty to keep his voice high. 

Dr Conrad Murray, the man authorities in the US blamed for the King of Pop’s death, said he was sworn to secrecy over the shocking claim.

But he makes the alarming revelation in the final part of our ­explosive serialisation of his new book, This Is It.

In the Jackson 5 (Photo: Getty Images)

Dr Murray, who met Michael three years before his death, says: “He began talking vaguely, seeming to have more difficulty describing precisely what happened to him. Maybe he was almost at the limit to his cathartic confession that night. But what Michael said left me the impression that he had been given injections, probably hormones, to delay puberty.

 “After he had revealed for the first time to someone else his deepest held secret, Michael stopped talking.”
The star made his confession after isolating himself from the world for years and persistent ­allegations of child sex abuse – and Dr Murray believes it explains many of his bizarre character traits.

Michael Jackson singer and Oprah Winfrey (Photo: Reuters)

He writes: “I often saw Jackson at his most exposed and confessional. He only agreed to share after making me swear, ‘You will never breathe a word. Never.’
“I agreed. I was shocked when Jackson told me. It would explain all of Michael’s unusual behaviour as well as his ­morphological changes.”

 The singer died in 2009 from a cardiac arrest brought on by prescription drugs. Later in his book, Dr Murray, 63, reveals how Michael had spoken of the difficult ­relationship he had with his father, Joe.

Michael Jackson in his trademark mask (Photo: Jason Shillingford/Daily Mirror)

Speaking to Oprah Winfrey in 1993, Michael claimed he was physically and emotionally abused by his dad from a young age – and Joe forced his sons to rehearse ­relentlessly in the early days of The Jackson 5.
Michael claimed his dad would clutch a belt as he watched and threatened to beat them if they made mistakes. Joe admitted whipping them – but claimed he only did it when it was justified.

In other revelations, Dr Murray said he discovered Michael’s feet were unbearably sore from callouses and fungal infection, causing him agony as he danced. Despite being in pain for years, he had refused to let a doctor see them due to his obsessive privacy. Dr Murray says: “(They) were covered in callouses… and had an advanced chronic fungal infection. It turned out he always wore socks because he was so ashamed of the way his feet looked.

“I suggested he needed a podiatrist. A day after his feet were treated, he was amazed he could walk and dance without pain. Later I prescribed anti-fungal medications to clear the infection. It was a complete success. Meanwhile, I personally administered regular lotions and massages to remove the rough skin.

Conrad Murray (Photo: Skyblue News)

“The fact Michael’s feet, something critical to him, were in such poor condition was a sign not only had he neglected himself but those around him were not keeping a close eye on his wellbeing.”

Michael Jackson (Photo: Getty)

Instead, Michael had spent years relying on painkillers and sedatives, developing the addiction that would contribute to his death.

But Dr Murray claims it was not a medic that kicked off Michael’s prescription drug abuse but the singer’s close pal Elizabeth Taylor.

Dr Murray says: “I was heavily engaged in talking to him about weaning him from the use of the [anaesthetic] Propofol.”

Michael Jackson (Photo: Reuters)

He adds: “I veered far from the wake of his request, to visit Elizabeth, so my meeting her never happened.
“I later learned it was Taylor who first got Michael on the road to addiction by introducing him to pain and sleep pills.”

He said the star’s abuse hit new levels in the run-up to his 50-date residency, called This Is It, at London’s O2 arena.
Dr Murray claims when he refused to prescribe drugs, Michael found other medics who would indulge him.

Michael Jackson is said to have been left distraught by the raid

Dr Murray says: “Maybe he was ­realising he couldn’t do it. Yet he had to live and pay his bills. He had already mortgaged his life.”

A family spokesman did not respond to Dr Murray’s claims. Joe is thought to be in poor health following a stroke last year and went into hospital in May.