Michael Jackson [ tickets ], through a spokesperson, has categorized as "wild allegations" and a "total fabrication" recent claims by the writer of a forthcoming unauthorized Jackson biography that Jackson's health is failing.

The statement, attributed to Jackson's "official and sole spokesperson, Dr. Tohme Tohme," came in response to writer Ian Halperin's claims that Jackson is suffering from a number of ailments, including Alpha 1-anititrypsin, a potentially fatal lung disease that, according to Halperin, has left Jackson in need of a lung transplant.

"Michael wants to have the lung transplant, but because of other illnesses he's fighting, he's too weak to undergo such a major procedure," Halperin, in an item posted at his website, quotes an unnamed friend of Jackson's. "He's taking one painkiller after another. I've known him over 20 years and have never seen him in such a frail state. It's very sad."

"He's had [Alpha 1-anititrypsin] for years, but it's gotten worse," Halperin reportedly said during a recent interview with In Touch magazine. "He needs a lung transplant but may be too weak to go through with it. He also has emphysema and chronic gastrointestinal bleeding, which his doctors have had a lot of trouble stopping. It's the bleeding that is the most problematic part. It could kill him."

"Concerning the author's allegations, we would hope in the future that legitimate media will not continue to be exploited by such an obvious attempt to promote [Halperin's forthcoming] unauthorized [Jackson] 'biography,'" Tohme said in a press release. "The writer's wild allegation concerning Mr. Jackson's health are a total fabrication.

"Mr. Jackson is in fine health," Thome's statement continues, "and finalizing negotiations with a major entertainment company and television network for both a world tour and a series of specials and appearances.

Halperin is a writer who has won Rolling Stone magazine's Award for Investigative Journalism, and has authored or co-authored five books, including biographies about Celine Dion and James Taylor, according to Halperin's website.