Gravity isn’t affected by death, the mass remains: “ashes to ashes”.

Mr. Jackson had a disease that destroys skin pigmentation. That is the reason for the glove, the long sleeved shirts, etc. to hide the effects of the problem while he was performing. The disease tends to occur in patches rather than a general lightening. Enough people complained that medical details had to be released.

Britain didn’t have a racially mixed population until after WWII and the break-up of the Empire, so there was no one to complain. Things change.

I thank you for your kind words, DC. Death isn’t something that should be trivialized.