A Michael Jackson impersonator has spent $30,000 on surgeries to look like him and says that he has no regrets despite the allegations that he was a pedophile.
Michael Jackson was a world-renowned American singer, songwriter, and dancer and was extraordinarily talented, which made him worthy to be hailed the King of Pop.
Although the pop icon died at the young age of 50, his iconic fashion sense, explosive performances, and hit songs are forever preserved through record awards, documentary films, statues, and symbols, and apparently, through his fans.
Michael Jackson’s fans have admired him for being a legendary artist and a lot of them would try to impersonate him. The youngest of them is Leo.
Leo Blanco, 22, from Buenos Aires, Argentina is the youngest professional impersonator of Michael Jackson that has undergone 11 plastic surgeries and spent $30,000 to look like his idol.
Leo became obsessed with the pop star as a child and decided that he wanted to look like his hero.
Since he was 15, the young impersonator already underwent numerous cosmetic procedures including otoplasty, liposuction, and rhinoplasty to attain looking like Michael Jackson.
Leo performs as Michael Jackson for a living to pay for his surgeries but after eleven surgeries and $30,000 expenses he is still not satisfied with the way he looks and is preparing for more surgery in the future.
“Once you start with the surgeries, there’s no limit,” Leo told the Mirror. “It’s impossible to have just one or two surgeries done, you want more and more.”
It seems like it’s all worth it as people recognize Leo as Michael Jackson on the streets. Leo is getting more attention after being featured in Leaving Neverland, an upcoming HBO documentary film about Michael Jackson.
The young impersonator is also making a bang online because people wanted to know more about the super fan’s love for MJ and his decision to go under the knife.
He believes he still needs to enhance his nose, chin, and eyebrows.
“Each surgery takes me closer to my objective,” he said.
However, Leo’s family, especially his mother is worried about him going through too many surgeries as he continuously wants to change his looks.
“I approve of him being a fan of Michael Jackson and impersonating him, but the plastic surgeries?” Adriana, Leo’s mother said. “I’m worried he’s going to die in one of these surgeries.”
“I’m afraid because he goes into surgeries so casually as if he was just going to the hairdresser,” she added.
Adriana already raised her concerns but could not convince Leo to stop making his parents and himself suffer.
“It’s your fault,” Leo jokingly said. “If you’d have created me more beautiful, I wouldn’t need to have any surgeries.”
Leo was not worried about his transformations. In fact, he’s become more confident and thinks he’s now loved by more people.
He now has 40,000 followers on Instagram but claims he was not quite so popular growing up.
“I’ve never had many friends at school,” Leo explained. “I thought that there was something wrong with me and that I had to form my body, so I went to the gym and I bleached my hair blond.”
“Despite being muscular and blond, I have never managed to connect with pupils of my age,” he added. “I can say that today I’m surrounded by people who I love and not with people that the high school imposes on me.”
His last procedure will give him a more square jawline but says he is not yet done.
“I think there are three surgeries missing on my nose and for sure the chin,” he told Mirror. “I’d like to have my eyebrows a bit more lifted up, this could be done by getting injections. I’d like to get a facelift, although all the surgeons refuse to do it because they say I’m not old enough.”
“It’s a constant fight between what my parents want, what I want, and what the surgeons are willing to do,” Leo said.