Culture

Fact or Fiction: Michael Jackson rumours

Sifting through all the scandalous news reports for the truth about MJ’s life and death

Fact or Fiction: Michael Jackson rumoursThe allegation: MJ autopsy results released

On Monday, British Tabloid, The Sun, announced that it had received a copy of the coroner’s autopsy of Michael Jackson. It seems the star was in pretty bad shape. The Sun explained that Jackson was “a virtual skeleton” at the time of his death—“barely eating and with only pills in his stomach at the time he died. His hips, thighs and shoulders were riddled with needle wounds—believed to be the result of injections of narcotic painkillers, given three times a day for years.”  The report also alleged that Jackson bore scars from at least 13 separate cosmetic operations, that “little more than ‘peach fuzz’ covered his scalp,” and that he showed symptoms of anorexia.

The verdict: FALSE

The Sun’s report was a fake, says entertainment site TMZ (who broke the news of Michael Jackson’s death). The Los Angeles County coroner made this announcement on Monday: “The report that is being published did not come from this office. I don’t know where the information came from, or who that information came from. It is not accurate. Some of it is totally false.”

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The allegation: Jackson’s family disputes autopsy results

The rumor wheels start spinning each time that Conrad Murray, Jackson’s personal doctor, enters the picture. Although reports have suggested that Murray gave Jackson shots of a number of drugs—including Demerol and OxyContin—that contributed to his death, the doc has denied them all.  But that might not be enough for the Jackson clan. New accounts say that the family does not accept the initial autopsy results, which show no signs of trauma or foul play.  Rumour has it that they’ve demanded a second, private autopsy be performed.

The Verdict: TRUE

The Rev. Jesse Jackson said Saturday that Jackson’s family requested a private autopsy because they were concerned about Dr. Murray’s behavior.  “We are not saying that something is wrong,” Jackson explained. “It is just bizarre.”

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The allegation: MJ did NOT leave a will. And the Jackson clan will battle it out for the spoils.

On Monday, Jackson’s parents filed a claim in Superior Court saying that their son Michael did not leave a will. But later that day, a friend of Jackson’s, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that there was a will. With his property—and the three kids—at stake, the issue has thrown sources close to the star into a frenzy.

The Verdict: DRAW

It’s still not clear whether MJ left a will—or what his will looked like. On Tuesday morning, Jackson family attorney Brian Oxman fired back at rumours on CBS’ The Early Show, saying, “No one that I know of has ever seen the will. We simply don’t know.”  That view is at odds with Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal report, which claims that Michael drafted a will in 2002 which divides his estate among his mother, three children, and a few charities.

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The allegation: Michael Jackson is NOT Debbie Rowe’s baby daddy.

Perez Hilton and other celeb bloggers made reference this week to an interview with Debbie Rowe, in which she admitted that her late ex-husband, Michael Jackson, was not the father of their children. Rowe allegedly explained: “I was just the vessel. It wasn’t Michael’s sperm. Just like I stick the sperm up my horse, this is what they did to me. I was his thoroughbred.”

The Verdict: FALSE… Kind of

Tuesday, Perez and the others took it all back after Rowe’s attorney, Marta Almli revealed that the interview was a fake. “The interview did not occur,” Almli explained.  “The article is a complete fabrication.”

So Jackson is the father, after all! Not quite. TMZ reported Tuesday that neither Jackson nor Rowe are the biological parents of Michael Jr., Paris and Prince Michael II. Apparently, all three children were conceived in vitro—outside the womb. And Rowe’s eggs were allegedly not used. The article did not speculate as to whether Jackson chose sperm or egg donors personally.

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The allegation: OK! Magazine to feature photo of dying Jackson.

Apparently, OK! Weekly will take the prize for most shocking cover. The magazine is reported to have paid roughly $500,000 for exclusive rights to a photo of the dying star being transported to the hospital on June 25. That photo will be featured in the magazine’s next issue.

Verdict: TRUE

The magazine plans to use the image in a number of its international additions. OK!’s editorial director, Sarah Ivens, thinks the photo could differentiate her magazine from other tribute-style publications that have been released this week. The magazine will apparently run a close-up on Jackson’s lifeless body, next to the words “in loving memory.”

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