He’s not known for being the most normal of musicians, but according to reports in the media pop superstar Michael Jackson is suffering from a back complaint so severe he’s been forced to travel in a wheelchair. The “Thriller” star, who’s currently recording a new album alongside guest will.i.am and producer Rodney Jerkins, was snapped by paparazzi this week being pushed around in a wheelchair in Las Vegas – and wearing his pyjamas, a surgical mask and a dread-locked wig.

According to British tabloid The Sun, Jackson’s health woes have worsened over the years, and he now suffers from severe back pain alongside auto-immune disease lupus and vitiligo (loss of skin pigment, causing pale skin).

“He stayed in the store for two hours and wheeled himself around in the chair the whole time,” an eye-witnessed told the paper. “The skin on his hands was peeling, almost like a snake’s. He kept his mask on all the time. His security man was at his side and nobody approached him. It is really sad.”