Superfan who changed his name to Michael Jackson struggling to find a job

A dad who was so obsessed with Michael Jackson that he legally changed his name to that of the late star is now desperately trying to change it back.

On legal records, John Lomas’ name is actually ‘John Michael Jackson’ – but the 38-year-old from the UK claims the moniker is causing him havoc when applying for new jobs.

“A few years ago I went to LA and soon after that I changed my name to Michael Jackson legally,” John said.

“I have supported him blindly for years and but it has come to a point with everything recently that I’ve thought, ‘no more’.

“There is too much doubt and I’m now left with this name that I need to get rid of.”

Now John, who currently works in a factory and estimates he could have spent over $1.8million on MJ memorabilia in the last 25 years – is fundraising to raise the $250 needed to make the change by deed poll.

“I’m trying to get into the care profession but every time I do a [background] check I have to disclose my full name and if I’m going for a job like that it looks really bad that I’ve chosen to change my name to that of an alleged paedophile,” he explained.

“I’ve asked for legal advice and there is nothing I can do to change my name back by deed poll without paying a fee, which I can’t afford.

“I just want to put this behind me, I can’t have this name hanging above me anymore, I just want a fresh start.”

For years John defended his hero against speculation that the singer may have groomed young boys, purchasing everything from the 1988 Michael Jackson LA Gear trainers to shipping MJ umbrellas from Germany.

“As a child I bought anything and everything I could get my hands on, I bought his albums in every format I could, this obsession has been going for 25 years, since I was 12 years old, I could have easily spent over a million on it,” he said.

“You do idolise these people and you just never really know what they are actually doing.”

And incredibly, it’s not the first time John, whose birth name was Ben Andreas Lomas, has changed his name, in fact in 1999 following an obsession with The Beatles, he became legally known as ‘John Lennon’.

His strongly-held obsessions became more understandable when he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome in 2011.

But after the release of controversial documentary, Leaving Neverland, which has published stories of men who allege that they were molested by Michael Jackson as young boys, John is finally convinced of the allegations.

“I’ve deleted all his songs and got rid of all my MJ souvenirs and memorabilia. It all went straight in the bin almost immediately after I had watched the documentary,” John said.

“I knew this documentary was coming up and I thought it was just speculation, I thought here we go again but as I was watching it, some of the victims came across as completely genuine.”

With additional reporting by Caters News.

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