Conspiracy Theory on Michael Jackson
Every year when Halloween comes around, it is almost rare for someone to go without hearing the song “Thriller” by Michael Jackson at least once throughout the fall season. He created a catchy tune that has stuck with people all over the world, but this song is not the only thing Michael Jackson was known for.
Young Michael Jackson got thrown into the music industry at five years old; he formed a music group with his siblings, and they named it The Jackson 5 (“Michael Jackson Biography”). This group became popular with songs like “I Want You Back,” but he later branched off and became a solo artist. Jackson became majorly famous and successful before passing away from cardiac arrest at 50 years old. Though, not everyone wants to believe that Michael Jackson simply died. While some fans are sure that he is still alive and in hiding, others insist that he didn’t die of cardiac arrest and that he was murdered instead; all of these are plausible to someone, so let’s discuss how Michael Jackson died and why he most likely died from cardiac arrest with no conspiracy attached.
Everyone who knows of Michael Jackson knows that he was extremely talented and charismatic. Afterall, he is considered the King of Pop. While he always seemed to be in good spirits, being lively is not all that he was known for. As he grew older and became more famous, Jackson’s skin started turning lighter. This raised even more attention to him, with people questioning whether he “wanted to look white” or not (Harris). As a black man, phrases like that can be harmful, so Michael Jackson came out and said that he had a skin condition called vitiligo. Merriam-Webster defines vitiligo as, “a skin disorder manifested by smooth white spots on various parts of the body” (“Vitiligo”). Though, Jackson’s case was different. There are rare cases where vitiligo can completely lighten someone’s complexion, but the condition typically causes people to only have some lighter patches on their skin. After he passed away, his autopsy revealed that he used a cream specially designed for people with his skin condition, and the point of it to was lighten all his skin down to the same shade (Harris). So, to answer the question from before: no, Michael Jackson did not want to be white. He was attempting to fix his appearance because in his eyes, the way he looked was not enough. Lightening his skin alongside getting many plastic surgeries deemed Jackson to have self-confidence issues because of his medical diagnosis.
There are many ways to demonstrate to someone how talented Michael Jackson is, but the easiest way is to showcase his awards. Like mentioned earlier, he was recognized as the King of Pop. Jackson earned this title after Elizabeth Taylor awarded him with the Soul Train Heritage Award in 1989, and she referred to him as “the true king of pop, rock, and soul” (Hughes). After that, the name just stuck, and it was well fitting. Thriller came out in 1982, and the album earned itself a record-breaking 12 Grammy Award Nominations. Of those 12 nominations, 8 were awarded to the album, which was also a record breaker. Some of the achievements included best rhythm and blues song for "Billie Jean," best male pop vocal performance for "Thriller," and best male rock vocal performance for "Beat It." Ultimately, Jackson ended up winning the Album of the Year award (“Michael Jackson Biography”). Michael Jackson earned these awards, and many more, because of his talent and creativity. He was such a unique artist and performer, and there is an extensive list of Jackson’s awards, but it is clear to see that he was deserving of all of them.
There is another part to Michael Jackson’s success, and that is his charisma. On stage, he always looked electrifying and super upbeat. In an interview with Oprah, he even said that he felt as if he “was chosen as an instrument to give music and love and harmony to the world” (Gregoire 1). Michael Jackson always knew just what to say during interviews or to his fans, but that was not how he actually felt. Paralleling his previous statement, he has also said, “It hurts to be me” (1). Deep down, the King of Pop did not actually feel like a king. His childhood and rise to fame were characterized as lonely and full of struggle, but Jackson made sure not to show anyone that. He was someone who was able to hide his sorrow behind charm. Though, he did it so well that everyone was even more devastated when he died.
When thinking of Michael Jackson, there are many who can perfectly picture his voice and way of talking, but that is to never be overshadowed by his aptitude and personality. Jackson had to deal with many struggles as a young popstar, but he never once let the fame (or misery that comes with fame) get to him.
While Michael Jackson had a lot of uncertainty surrounding his life, there are two main conspiracy theories about him that are important. The first conspiracy theory is that Michael Jackson didn’t ever die, but he is in hiding. The second conspiracy suggests that he did die, but not of cardiac arrest. Some choose to believe that Jackson was murdered instead (“Conrad Murray”). Both are interesting, but the idea that he is still out there in the world is much more intriguing and entertaining.
The first conspiracy theory, which is believed by a good amount of people, began when Michael Jackson’s family had a closed casket funeral (Busfield 1). His official cause of death was cardiac arrest, and because that doesn’t cause much physical or facial damage, people believed that “a closed casket wasn’t a necessity,” which completely disrespected the Jackson family’s wishes (1). The rumors began to die down, but they sparked up again once pictures of a casket holding Michael Jackson’s body arose (1). The picture showed a dark-skinned male wearing a purple outfit, which is something that he could possibly be seen wearing, but this was later proven false because Jackson had a lighter complexion at the time of his death (1). Michael Jackson had vitiligo, which causes people to have patches on their skin that do not have melanin. However, he disliked the patchiness of his skin, so he began to lighten his skin with a doctor-prescribed cream in an attempt to even out his complexion. Despite the photo being proven false, many fans still speculated considering Michael Jackson’s body was still never seen after death (1).
When Michael Jackson died, he was taken upon a coroner’s inspection so that the coroner could find the official cause of death. Though, there is a video on YouTube proving that after the coroner took him in his van, an inspection was never done (Raseraa 1). The video was published by an account under the name Raseraa, which has gained over 20,000 subscribers, and this particular video has over 50,000 views (1). In the video, it shows the same coroner’s van that took Jackson backing into a secluded area, shutting a gate behind the van, and letting out a man that seems to look a lot like Michael Jackson (1). After being let out, the man walks into a building near the secluded area, and then he just disappears (1). Michael Jackson had a rough time dealing with fame. On many occasions, he talked about being lonely despite having many people’s attention. Therefore, it is possible, but highly unlikely, that Jackson was tired of having the spotlight on him, so he faked his death to start a new, peaceful life being unknown. It is highly unlikely because ever since this theory came about, there are many fans who believe that Michael Jackson had no reason to fake his death, but they will believe that he was murdered instead (“Conrad Murray”).
The second conspiracy theory that relates to the death of Michael Jackson suggests that he didn’t die of cardiac arrest and was instead murdered. Near his time of death, Michael Jackson was seeing a cardiologist named Conrad Murray. Jackson hired him for his 2009 tour considering that Murray had a private practice (“Conrad Murray” 1). People believed that Jackson only hired Murray because they were friends, but others say that Jackson needed a cardiologist with him because of his reliance on prescription drugs (1). Michael Jackson was considered an insomniac, so he had trouble going to sleep at night (1). To solve this, Jackson always bugged his cardiologist and another nurse that he had hired, Cherilyn Lee, to give him propofol, which was an anesthetic, because he knew that would help him rest (1). Cherilyn Lee would advise him that he “might not wake up the next morning” and that he “don't want that" (1). Though Michael Jackson continued to beg, she still refused to give him the drug. However, Conrad Murray is a different story.
There was never any proof of Murray buying propofol for Michael Jackson, but with their time together the evidence showed that Murray administered a propofol drip for Jackson, and he administered it every night (“Conrad Murray” 1). The cardiologist did not take into concern the idea that Jackson might have been addicted to the drug, so Murray was just giving him what he wanted (1). This routine continued for weeks, up until one night in June (1). Michael Jackson was returning from an exhausting rehearsal, so when he went to sleep, Murray hooked him up to an IV with the same anesthetic drug (1). This time, though, Murray also injected Jackson with lorazepam, which was an anti-anxiety medicine, and midazolam, which was a muscle relaxant (1). After doing this the cardiologist stepped away from Jackson for a few minutes, and once he returned, the popstar was no longer breathing, and he had a weak pulse (1). Conrad Murray then performed CPR on Michael Jackson, but it was no use (1). Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter, and though he was sentenced to four years in prison, he only served two before being released (1).
The conspiracy comes in when people debate whether Murray did this to Jackson on purpose or not. Apparently when performing CPR, Murray also administered another drug going into his body. The final drug was called flumazenil, and he injected it to reverse the outcome of the other drugs. Many experts believe that this drug intensified his reaction, causing Jackson to have an even higher chance of death (“Conrad Murray” 1). So, if experts say that the final drug was unnecessary, why did Murray inject it? When investigating Jackson’s death in relation to Murray, he was very compliant, which was shocking to many. There are people who wanted to believe Murray slipped Jackson a lethal dose of drugs in his drink, but the evidence was lacking (1). The evidence in this case supports the idea that Murray did kill the King of Pop, but it wasn’t done on purpose.
There are still people who currently believe Michael Jackson was purposely murdered or is in hiding (Busfield). However, Jackson has been presumed dead since 2009, and the evidence for both cases is nearly absent and faulty. The video that shows Michael Jackson getting out of the van is low quality, and no one ever found intent coming from Murray that would make him want to purposefully murder Jackson (“Conrad Murray”). It is important that a popstar’s life isn’t ruined because of conspiracy theories, so it is better for people to let him rest peacefully.
After examining the life that led to Michael Jackson being considered the King of Pop, his saddening death led to two conspiracy theories:
1. Michael Jackson is not actually dead; he faked his death to live a secret life.
2. He was murdered, and he didn’t truly die from cardiac arrest.
Both conspiracies were highly investigated by everyone—ranging from people who were true Michael Jackson fans to those who enjoyed solving mysteries, but it seems as if both of these theories were too far-fetched. It is most likely that Michael Jackson simply passed away in 2009 due to cardiac arrest.
Works Cited
Busfield, Carly. “Carly's Conspiracy Corner #2: Michael Jackson Is Not Dead.” BUnow, 5 Feb. 2021, https://bunow.com/carlys-conspiracy-corner-2-michael-jackson-is-not-dead/.
“Conrad Murray.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 17 May 2021, www.biography.com/personality/conrad-murray.
Gregoire, Carolyn. “Why so Many Artists Are Highly Sensitive People.” The Creativity Post, 11 Jan. 2016, www.creativitypost.com/article/why_so_many_artists_are_highly_sensitive_people.
Harris, John. “Did Michael Jackson Have Vitiligo?” UMass Chan Medical School, 19 Dec. 2018, www.umassmed.edu/vitiligo/blog/blog-posts1/2016/01/did-michael-jackson-have-vitiligo/.
Hughes, Roxanne. “Michael Jackson: The Origin of the King of Pop's Career-Defining Title Revealed.” Express.co.uk, Express.co.uk, 21 June 2020, www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1299065/Michael-Jackson-King-of-Pop-origin-title-career-Elizabeth-Taylor-Oprah-Winfrey-interview.
“Michael Jackson Biography.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 3 Mar. 2021, www.biography.com/musician/michael-jackson.
Raseraa. Michael Jackson Getting Out of Coroner's Van - June 25th, 2009. YouTube, 19 Apr. 2020, https://youtu.be/D1EAwT8Rcb4.
“Vitiligo.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vitiligo.