Michael Jackson by Jesserose Mireles

On June 25th, 2009, the world was heart-broken with the loss of Michael Jackson, the king of pop. His death was said to be caused by an overdose on a sleeping drug (“The Death of Michael Jackson”). But the question still remains—who is responsible for Michael’s fatal

overdose? To answer this, multiple conspiracy theories have surfaced:

· Was it AEG music company, who Michael claimed at tried to stop his comeback album

                and tour?

· Was it Dr. Conrad Murry, who prescribed Michael the drug?

· Was it ultimately the king of pop himself?

Let’s examine each theory, with the most realistic one being that Michael Jackson was overdosed by Dr. Conrad Murray.

Rarely does anyone hear the name Michael Jackson and think negative thoughts. He was loved and praised by his fans. He was one of the bestselling artists of his time and it seemed he had everything going for him. But this fame must have taken some type of toll on his mental health, because as the years went on the mental pain he felt began to seep out from him and became obvious to the public.

 Michael was very soft-spoken and quiet. Even when he was younger it seemed the only time he came out of his shell was when he was on stage, singing his heart out whether he was next to his siblings or on his own. He had been that way ever since he was a child and it carried on throughout his adulthood. Because of his timid personality, Michael came off as odd and sort of ‘out there,’ so to speak. During an NME Interview with him and his siblings it was said that he rarely even spoke for himself; usually he needed one of his siblings to explain the question to him and then answer for him (NME). NME was warned before conducting the interview, “Michael might seem to drift off but he’s still with it- it’s just the way he is,” (1). Because of this he was viewed as fragile and very rarely was he addressed. The NME Interview occurred April 1981, when Michael was twenty-six. Even at this age and point in his career he was still unnaturally shy. Nonetheless the world overlooked it and focused on the music more than the man behind the microphone.

Furthermore, in the documentary “Living with Michael Jackson” by Martin Bashir, Michael was asked to stand up and demonstrate the dance he does to his song Billie Jean, but Michael tried to avoid standing up to dance and replied, “Now people are discovering something about me, I’m really shy, I’m embarrassed” (“Living with Michael Jackson”). When it was filmed, Michael was forty-five years old. It is evident that he never truly grew out of his shy nature. He seemed to lose some of the timid aspects of him but overall was still a very shy person. The timid factor was lost throughout the years as he opened up more to the public. His timid feature was lost enough to create an entire documentary of his life, yet his shy qualities are still evident. Michael learned to take his timid characteristic and push it inside of him because show business and the music industry told him a celebrity was not timid, he was able to take the scared feature away from his external self.

The Michael Jackson the world saw was only a small piece of who he truly was. Internally, Michael Jackson suffered from intense depression, and was addicted to pills to the point of reliance (Duke). It is no surprise considering the stress of a crumbling reputation, insecurities, and his comeback tour all on the star’s shoulders. The painkiller addiction began when Michael’s head caught on fire in 1984 during Pepsi ad gone wrong (Coulehan). Because of the severe burns on his scalp, Michael was put on painkillers. As time progressed he would take a dangerous number of prescribed painkillers, and on top of that, was addicted to Propofol to help with his insomnia (1). As put by his doctor, “His pleasure and reward pathways have been hijacked,” (1). Eventually, he began to use the painkillers and Propofol to dull the throbbing from more than just his head.

When confronted with questions concerning plastic surgery, Michael immediately responded “Everybody in Hollywood gets plastic surgery; plastic surgery wasn’t invented for Michael Jackson” (“Living with Michael Jackson”). In interviews Michael became defensive when questioned about his physical looks, and persistently claimed he only had two plastic surgeries; both on his nose, and each for singing and breathing purposes (1).  His physical appearance was one of his abundant insecurities. As a child, Michael’s father would make fun of his nose, call it fat, and say “You didn’t get that thing from me” (1). And as one of the most obvious changes in Michael, it is no wonder the public has trouble believing that his nose surgeries were done with the intentions he claims. But even more than just his nose is questioned, as Michael’s entire physical appearance changed throughout the years. It is thought that Michael completely changed his physical appearance because of his insecurities and terrible self-image. He thought he was so ugly, he rarely looked at himself. Michael said when he was younger he avoided looking at himself in the mirror at all costs, and washed his face with the lights off (1). Michael took it to the full extent and hated himself so much that it is plausible for him to have surgically altered his appearance. In the documentary, Living with Michael Jackson, Martin Bashir told Jackson, “Sometime, people go too far. Sometimes, if they’ve got a lot of money and an opportunity, sometimes they can think, ‘oh, I’ll do something’ especially given your childhood” (1). And like usual when these type of inquiries arose, Michael countered with a vague explanation, giving credit to puberty and the transitions made during adolescence. So immediately Jackson responded with tension in his voice, saying “I’ve changed, it’s called adolescence, growing and changing” (1). This was Michael’s response each time his face was brought up into an interview. But this left the public, and even still today, wondering how puberty and adolescence can change the entire bone structure of the face, the size of lips, and the skin color. It instead it is more believable that Michael surgically shaped his appearance because of his internal conflict with his self-image.

Michael’s change in skin color is another separate debate, though it goes back to the same idea: that Michael was so internally dissatisfied with his appearance, so full of self-hatred and insecure, that he lightened his skin color himself. Throughout the years, Michael skin went from dark brown and looking African American to a white color and looking Caucasian.

When asked about it, Michael said it was his vitiligo (Duke). And this is true because many of Michael’s close friends and family testified to him having the disease. But the definition of vitiligo is “a condition in which the pigment is lost from areas of the skin, causing whitish patches” (Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine). So, the questions arose; how did Michael Jackson’s entire skin tone gradually lighten over a period of years, when vitiligo is distinct patches of white skin? This stumped the public. It seemed that Michael had chosen to bleach his skin due to his insecurities, and then blamed the transformation on a health disease.

Michael was an eccentric man who the world saw as an amazing musician, but called “Wacko-Jacko” because of the controversies over his appearance and actions (Duke). But the world didn’t know the Michael who was depressed, unconfident, and insecure.

The death of Michael Jackson caused many conspiracies to blossom, with the main question being who killed the King of Pop. The blame could fall on either the AEG music company, Dr. Conrad Murray, or Michael himself.

            In the first conspiracy theory, the AEG music corporation which with Michael worked with was the presumed killer because of overworking and negligence (Monroe). Many times in the weeks leading up to his death Michael had told one of his advisors, Dick Gregory, “Don’t leave me, they’re trying to kill me,” (1). This phrase and usage of the word ‘they’ was heard often from Michael within the last few months of his death, and many assumed he meant the people running his life, the music corporation (1). The music company reportedly over-booked Michael for 50 extra concerts, only adding to the amount of stress on the singer (1). Kathleen Jackson attempted to file a civil law suit when it was made public that at the time of Michael’s death, his closest companion and doctor was no longer a certified cardiologist, a license which had run out in 2008, yet he was still employed by the AEG (Allen). She claimed it funded Murray, and was therefore responsible for his decisions (1). His sister, Latoya Jackson, even believes her brother was murdered, saying he was “surrounded by a bad circle, a group of people who didn’t have his best interests at heart,” (1). Could she be referring to AEG, who basically dictated the King of Pop’s agenda and life? Yet there has not been enough clear evidence to convict the music company for pushing Michael to the point of his death, as the Jackson family took the music company to court and lost. Though conspiracy theorists still believe it was AEG, this theory is not plausible.

            The second conspiracy theory is that Michael was killed by his physician, Conrad Murray. It was proven that the King of Pop died due to an overdose of Propofol and a variety of other drugs (Duke). As explained before, Michael used Propofol to help put him to sleep (1). This drug had been given to him by Dr. Conrad Murray for a long period of time. Michael was so used to it that he referred to the drug as his milk (Breuer). It was said by the court that Murray attempted to “prop Jackson up with drugs” (Allen). Murray was eventually charged with the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson, as he negligently administered a lethal drug to his patient (1).

But Murray persistently claimed his innocence throughout the trial saying, “I did not kill Michael Jackson. He was a drug addict. Michael Jackson accidently killed Michael Jackson,” (Duke). This brought up much controversy, as the main drug that Jackson died of was provided to him by the doctor to help him fall asleep. But the entire issue stems from the fact that Murray was administering a drug used by anesthesiologists to put patients to sleep before a surgery (Allen). This is not a drug that should have been used to put a person to sleep daily, and it required much more attention than Murray was giving it. But Murray and his lawyers unsuccessfully tried to argue that he was innocent and denied that Murray administered Jackson enough of the drug to kill him, insisting he was out of the room for two minutes when Michael Jackson self-ingested an extra, lethal dose of Propofol (Allen). Claiming his innocence, Murray insists, “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” (Duke). But here questions arise, because who else would know if this was true but Michael Jackson himself? From here conspiracies arise, questioning the whereabouts of Conrad Murray at the time of the Propofol administration. Could Dr. Conrad Murray really be the killer of Michael Jackson? Did he purposefully murder his best friend, aware of the dangerous Propofol amount? And why would it be this time that Murray left the room, leaving the Propofol accessible to Michael, when he had not done that before as he had always administered the drug to the singer himself? These questions remain unanswered, but conclusions can be drawn. In the poll conducted, 43% of people side with Conrad Murray and believe his innocence as the doctor had been successfully administering Jackson the drug and had not yet harmed him in any way. But the other 57% don’t believe it and see a liar and killer when they look at Dr. Conrad Murray. Based on the evidence provided, this is the most realistic solution.

            The third conspiracy theory centers around the idea that Michael Jackson overdosed himself on Propofol. This is backed up by Dr. Conrad Murray as he claims Michael swallowed a lethal amount of Propofol while he was out of the room (Allen). Upon hearing this, Michael’s father Joe Jackson was angered, saying “That’s bullshit, it’s not possible that Michael would do that. The whole family knows—and Michael’s fans all over the world know—that is it not true. It’s a lie. We are outraged” (Breuer). Murray admits to giving Michael a small dosage but insists the amount should not have been able to kill him (Allen). In fact, it might be plausible that Michael ingested an extra lethal amount as after a cross-examination Dr. Richard Ruffalo found traces of Propofol in Michael’s stomach, which would not add up if Murray had administered all of the drug to Jackson himself (Breuer). As mentioned earlier, Michael Jackson was a victim of depression and suffered insomnia which is why some think he in fact did commit suicide and believe it would make sense for him to take that fatal swig of Propofol. In the poll created, it seemed that adults over the age of thirty were the majority of the 43% that thought Michael overdosed himself. The older generation sees Michael Jackson’s death as a suicide more than a murder. Again, this theory will forever remain a theory as only Dr. Conrad Murray will truly know what happened that night. Due to the lack of evidence to prove this theory, it is not plausible.

            These conspiracies each go hand in hand. The AEG music company were the ones who hired Dr. Conrad Murray to attend to Michaels every need. Whatever Michael needed, Murray was supposed to be there to provide it or aid Michael in some way. This need eventually turned into a dependence on powerful drugs to help the singer fall asleep. So hypothetically one night, Michael was asking for his “milk” because he couldn’t fall asleep, and Dr. Conrad Murray, employed by the music company, refused to give it to him, leaving Michael to drink it himself when the doctor left the room. Or, one night Michael was asking for his “milk” to put him asleep for the night, and Dr. Conrad Murray, hired by the music company, gave it to him. Either way, each theory can be traced back to one another.

Michael Jackson was reported dead due to acute Propofol intoxication in Los Angeles, California. From this three conspiracies theories were born, trying to pinpoint who caused the singer’s death:

·         Did the AEG music company plan his death?

·         Did Dr. Conrad Murray overdose his best friend?

·         Had Michael Jackson overdosed himself?

It has been eight years since the world heard the shocking news and Michael’s death is still confounding. However, the evidence makes it likely that Dr. Conrad Murray was responsible for Michael Jackson’s death.

Works Cited

“'A Kid On The Edge' - Michael Jackson's Last NME Interview.” NME, Time Inc, 31 Aug. 2017, www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/a-kid-on-the-edge-michael-jacksons-last-interview-46962.

Allen, Nick. “Conrad Murray Found Guilty of Killing Michael Jackson.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 7 Nov. 2011, www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/michael-jackson/8867876/Conrad-Murray-found-guilty-of-killing-Michael-Jackson.html.

Bashir, Martin, director. Living with Michael Jackson. Dreamworks, 2003, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0lheO4WN_8

Breuer, Howard. “Conrad Murray Defense: Michael Jackson Drank Propofol.” PEOPLE.com, 7 Feb. 2011, people.com/crime/conrad-murray-defense-michael-jackson-drank-propofol/.

Coulehan, Erin. “Michael Jackson Was a Drug Addict, AEG Expert Testifies.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 28 Aug. 2013, www.rollingstone.com/music/news/michael-jackson-was-a-drug-addict-aeg-expert-testifies-20130828.

Duke, Alan. “Michael Jackson Was a Drug Addict, Says AEG Expert at Trial.” CNN, Cable News Network, 28 Aug. 2013, www.cnn.com/2013/08/27/showbiz/michael-jackson-death-trial/index.html.

Monroe, Bryan. “Who Really Killed Michael Jackson?” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 25 Aug. 2009, www.huffingtonpost.com/bryan-monroe/who-really-killed-michael_b_268056.html.

“The Death of Michael Jackson.” CNN, Cable News Network, 2010, www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/hln/how-it-really-happened/the-death-of-michael-jackson/

“Vitiligo.” Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/vitiligo