R&B singer TAMAR BRAXTON suffers from the same debilitating skin condition as tragic Michael Jackson.

The Thriller hitmaker's skin tone went from black to white over the course of his career due to his battle with Vitiligo.

Braxton was recently dogged by rumours she bleached her skin following questions about her changing complexion, but now the singer has set the record straight.

She tells news website Bossip.com, "(I have) Vitiligo - but I don't like to talk about that."

And her music producer husband, Vince Herbert, is trying to protect Braxton from the cruel taunts about her skin colour.

He adds, "I tell her not to read it because it's so ignorant, it's just not appropriate... We know what goes on in our household. I would never be in a relationship with a vain person like that."

Jackson and Braxton aren't the one celebrities to be diagnosed with the condition - The Cosby Show star Tempestt Bledsoe, former Charmed actress Holly Marie Combs, and Bollywood veteran Amitabh Bacchan have all opened up about their experiences with the pigment-changing skin condition.