Michael Jackson had 7 letters in both his first and last names. Born in 1958 (19 + 58 = 77), he was his parents’ 7th child. His two biggest hits stayed at #1 for 7 weeks. His three biggest albums each produced 7 top 40 hits. He signed his will on 7/7/02. Exactly 7 years later his memorial was held on 7/7/09. Here are 7 more strange stories surrounding the death of the King of Pop.
1EERIE PREDICTION. In January 2009, the National
Enquirer ran this headline: “MICHAEL JACKSON IS
DYING, HAS ONLY SIX MONTHS TO LIVE, PALS FEAR.” According to the story, Jackson was battling a rare genetic disorder that required him to undergo a lung transplant in order to save his life, but his health was further deteriorating because of an addiction to painkillers and alcohol. A source close to Jackson said at the time, “It’s tragic. His condition is just so far gone, I’d be surprised if he lasts six months.” (He lasted five months.)
2. BUG ZAPPERS. According to the family’s lawyer, Brian Oxman, Jackson was terrified in spring 2009 that “people would kill him to somehow try to take control of the Beatles back catalogue.” Jackson owned a share of the $1 billion publishing rights to the inventory of Beatles’ songs. Just four days before his death, Jackson reportedly told a close friend, “I’m better off dead. I don’t have anywhere left to turn. I’m done.”
3. A THRILLER OF A CONSPIRACY. Shortly after Jackson’s death in 2009, his older sister, LaToya, claimed that Michael was murdered: “Not just one person was involved, rather it was a conspiracy of people who didn’t have his best interest at heart.” A month later, the L.A. County Coroner ruled the death a homicide, caused by a lethal combination of drugs. Police focused their investigation on one of those people in Jackson’s inner circle, his physician, Dr. Conrad Murray…who had allegedly administered Propofol, a powerful anesthetic, to Jackson shortly before his death. (Was MJ’s death a murder? Stay tuned to a future Bathroom Reader to find out.)
4. VIRTUAL CONFUSION. Jackson’s sudden end sent shock waves across cyberspace: Only seconds after his death was announced, traffic doubled on the microblogging site Twitter, temporarily shutting it down. Google’s search engine was similarly inundated, causing the service to issue an error message when users entered Jackson’s name. (Google’s computers interpreted the surge as an attack from hackers.) The confusion led many to believe the news was a hoax. After gossip blogger Perez Hilton wrote, “Jackson is lying or making himself sick,” several mainstream news sites reported that. Some actual hoaxers used the confusion as an opportunity to spread rumors about other celebrity deaths, including a claim that actor Jeff Goldblum was killed in a fall while filming a movie in New Zealand. (He wasn’t.)
In the 48 hours after Michael Jackson died, cable news outlets devoted 93% of their air time to covering the story.
5. BAD LEGISLATION. A few days after Jackson died, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) proposed a nonbinding resolution that honored the King of Pop’s contributions “to the world on behalf of America.” At Jackson’s memorial, Lee held up a copy of the resolution and promised it would be debated on the House floor. However, when she arrived in Congress the following week, the resolution was met by jeers on both sides of the aisle, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who said that the bill would “open up contrary views that are not necessary at this time.” (In other words, Jackson’s highly publicized legal problems would have made it controversial.) Undaunted, Lee promised, “We will work with this legislation as long as necessary.” It was never passed.
6. THE NOSE KNOWS. For years, fans have wondered if Jackson’s nose was his own—or was it a prosthetic? That question may have been answered when it was reported that someone had stolen the artificial appendage while Jackson’s body lay in a Los Angeles morgue, leaving behind, according to press reports, “a small, dark hole surrounded by bits of cartilage” in the deceased singer’s surgically altered face. Police have yet to find the nose.
7. SPACE ODDITY. There were hundreds of tributes to the fallen singer in summer 2009, but here’s one that never came to be: The Iowa State Fair had originally planned to feature a butter sculpture of Jackson performing his signature “Moonwalk” dance. The idea was nixed after 65% of 100,000 voters rejected it in an online poll. The butter sculpture was replaced with one commemorating astronaut Neil Armstrong’s actual moon walk.