The death of Michael Jackson has left many lingering questions—questions that, alas, cannot be answered by translating his lyrics into text messages—and none have been more vocal about asking them than Jackson’s own family. During a week of honoring the anniversary of Jackson's death by throwing blame around, a commemoration officially kicked off by patriarch Joe Jackson pointing fingers at matriarch Katherine Jackson for fatally ignoring her son’s painkiller addiction, the BBC recently got some similar hindsight from brother Jermaine, who claims that had Michael “embraced Islam, he would still be here today.” Useful! But unfortunately, if LaToya Jackson is to be believed, no amount of interventions or religious conversions ever could have saved Michael: She believes Jackson was murdered because he was “worth so much more than he was alive.” The truth is out there, and it’s earning pilfered royalties!
Speaking to GMTV following the announcement that Jackson’s estate had earned more $1 billion since his death, LaToya is quoted as saying, “He was murdered for his catalog and they knew that,” demanding an investigation into “the truth” she’s known for a year now. “You must remember from the day that I found out that Michael was no longer with us, when my mother screamed 'he's dead' on the phone, I just went into this, 'Who did it?"' LaToya said. Her comments, though based entirely on an unsubstantiated hunch, were echoed later by the Reverend Al Sharpton, who said this week, “I don't think we can heal until we look at the wounds. Who inflicted the wound and why. I think we can celebrate his life, but we can't be settled with his death until we know, who, what, when and why. And we still don't know."
Too true, which is why it’s important to just keep asking questions like these as loudly and publicly as possible, without ever hinting at any sort of specifics that could actually be addressed or logically considered. But of course, it would be cynical to assume that the Jacksons have some ulterior motive for seeking attention this way—and if we want to make the world a better place, etc. etc. It’s probably totally a conspiracy. “They” are always doing things like this.