Appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1993, Jackson addressed the rumors claiming that the change in his skin color was due to the disease vitiligo.[163] In the interview, Jackson became emotional, saying that: "I'm a black American, I am proud of my race. I am proud of who I am. I have a lot of pride and dignity... I have a skin disorder that destroys the pigmentation of my skin, it's something that I cannot help, OK? But when people make up stories that I don't want to be what I am it hurts me... It's a problem for me that I can't control."