There's a price on everything and it seems that celebrity is paying its highest fee on Michael Jackson's private life.

Michael Jackson's shopping day was quite a drag for the pop star, who was spotted in a mall in the Gulf Arab state of Bahrain on Wednesday disguised as a traditional Arab woman, apparently to avoid public attention.

47-year-old Michael Jackson relocated in the Arab country in June 2005 after being acquitted of child molestation charges and has been living there so far. The star is considered a guest of the royal family in Bahrain and has a special status there.

Yesterday, he was seen at a popular downtown mall wearing a black abaya robe, black gloves, sunglasses and a veil that covered his face, exactly like all Bahraini women.

But the disguise wasn't that perfect, as the three Western-looking children accompanying him drew the attention of other shoppers, who quickly recognized the pop star. Since living in Bahrain, Michael Jackson became a extremely popular figure in the Gulf region.

"Please, no!" Jackson shouted at photographers before making a rapid exit with the children and a woman via the back door of the mall. Also the woman who was accompanying Jackson asked photographers to step back: "You have to give us some privacy. Please, you have to understand his position, he is with his kids … you need to leave us alone," she said.
One cannot but wonder what are those kids thinking… "Look, there's mum!... Oh, no, that's dad dressed like mum!... No, wait, we don't have a mum… Oh well…"