The Life of the Pop Icon was full of controversies from early in his life up to his death and after

Famous in life and legendary in death, Michael Jackson, acclaimed King of Pop, had controversies trailing him wherever he went and in whatever he did. He once said: “If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.”

Katherine Jackson, his mother, adored him from the time he was born, and the affection shown by fans around the world since he died was a proof that he was a favourite among all. But even in death, Michael’s personality continues to deal with the “everything.”

Many fans around the world reacted to the news of his death with the expectation that his demise would put to rest his turbulent but starlit career. Ironical as it may seem, Jackson’s death in itself continues to raise more dust. From issues ranging from sales of tickets and monetary refunds of same for his performance at the O2 Arena, which will never happen, to the custody of his children, and perhaps the intriguing question of the exact cause of his death and his rather closeted medical history, it is no doubt that, just as Lionel Richie, his friend and co-writer of We Are The World, once said: “Michael still has the magic.”

The presence of Conrad Murray, Jackson’s doctor, at his side shortly after he collapsed has created conspiracy theories. Speculations are rife that Murray, presently being questioned by police, injected Jackson with Demerol, a brand of meperidine used in the treatment of moderate and severe pains, an hour before he died. Even though Murray has not been allowed to speak publicly on the issue, Edward Chernoff, his attorney, denied allegations that his client injected Jackson with doses of Demerol about an hour before his collapse.

Chernoff’s defence can be understood. He has to protect his client from the consequences if found to have contributed to Jackson’s death. But leaked results of the autopsy conducted by the Los Angeles Coroner’s department might provide a clue. The autopsy revealed that Jackson had not eaten for several hours prior to his death and dissolved pills of painkillers were found in his stomach. Added to that were piercings on his chest, arms and shoulders, apparently from injections he had received several hours before and immediately after his collapse. His heart was damaged by three piercings of the needles and several ribs were broken from attempts at resuscitating him.

Chernoff added that it took the paramedics about 25 minutes from the time the 911 call was made before arriving at the Neverland Ranch, Jackson’s home. Cardiologists explained that the first five minutes after a patient suffers a cardiac arrest are very crucial for administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation, CPR, else the chances of survival becomes extremely remote. Part of the answers which Murray is expected to provide will drill holes on his expertise as a cardiologist. Murray had applied CPR to Jackson on the bed which was medically wrong and ineffective. The CPR, according to medical experts, is said to be administered with the patient lying on the floor.

Cathy Ross, cardiovascular expert for the British Heart Foundation, said cardiac arrest is the electrical malfunction of the heart in which the heart becomes erratic. She included anorexics as a group of people predisposed to suffering attacks. “If you don’t eat the right things, levels of blood electrolytes such as potassium can become depleted. They are very important for heart rhythm which could then lead to cardiac arrest,” she explained.

Questions have also been raised on the sudden disappearance of Murray shortly after Jackson’s death only to resurface several hours later, and the possibility that he injected Jackson with Demerol.

The deaths of a few notable names have been associated with Demerol in the past, apparently from addiction or overuse of drugs. David Kennedy, nephew to John F Kennedy, former US president, died in 1984 from multiple ingestion of Demerol along with other drugs. Also, the cause of death of Tammy Wynette, first lady of country music, in 1998, was said to be cardiac arrhythmia according to coroner’s report. Jackie Daly, Wynette’s daughter, revealed in a book that her mother had been “hopelessly addicted” to Demerol and other painkillers.

In 2005, at the time he was under investigation for child molestation, Jackson, who was seemingly depressed, was gobbling tablets such as Valium, Xanax, Ativan, Morphene and Demerol.

The latest news on Jackson’s abuse of drugs, particularly non-prescriptive ones, came to light last week when forensic investigators searching his Neverland Ranch for clues that will aid in unravelling his mysterious death found propofol, a powerful sedative. There was no reason for the drug being in his home, or any other home, for that matter. Propofol is a clinical sedative applied intravenously to induce anesthesia prior to operations. Its overwhelming effect is such that it is not readily available over-the-counter for consumers. But Jackson had begged Cherilyn Lee, his former nurse, to get him the drugs. Francois Chast, head of the pharmacology department at Paris’s Hotel-Dieu Hospital, said: “Propofol should have no business being in the house unless it happens to be equipped with an operating theatre.” Chast explained that overdose of the drug can cause cardiovascular and respiratory malfunction which may lead to cardiac arrest. He, however, advised that postmortem tests will reveal the cause of the star’s death, warning that the public should be slow in jumping to conclusions. The circumstances surrounding Jackson's death last week became a federal issue with the police asking the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration to look at the pop star's doctors and possible drug abuse.

Indications that there was something ominous about the health of the pop icon surfaced in the early 1990s when his skin began to turn white. There were also speculations that he was a homosexual and that change of the complexion of his skin had something to do with it. Various interpretations were given to his use of bleaching creams and series of plastic surgery done to his nose and face. The general thinking was that he wanted to look like the whites. But the artiste himself told millions of his fans around the world in a 90 minute appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s programme that the whitening of his skin was the result of a medication he had used to cure vitiligo, a skin ailment which kills melanin, the pigment which gives the black colouring to dark-skinned people, leaving white patches in its stead.

The condition of his hair also came to light in the autopsy report. Pathologists discovered that Jackson had lost most of his hair and was wearing a wig at the time of his death. The scarred portion above his left ear was totally bald, obviously from the fire accident that torched his hair during the filming of the Pepsi commercial that went awry in 1984. And at that time, he had undergone a fourth rhinoplasty to give his nose a near aquiline shape, and many more afterwards.

In the last month of 2008, an author who had been working on a biography of Jackson made a startling revelation that the Billy Jean sensation was living on borrowed time. Ian Halperin, the biographer, had reported that Jackson required a lung transplant to prevent a lung failure. Jackson’s publicist and spokesperson denied the allegations of his client’s health at the time, referring the stories on his health as fabrications and falsehoods. But Halperin also mentioned that Jackson had alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, an ailment which affects the skin and lungs resulting in symptoms similar to recurrent respiratory infections and asthma.

Jackson’s many health battles, however, were not just about his skin and his respiratory organs. The man whom his father described as the greatest musician of all times was also psychotic. He was said to have lost contact with reality, being disillusioned about what defines dieting and weight loss. Jackson who had died leaving a hefty debt unsettled had nothing left of his body but a thin flesh and frail bones, according to pathologists. He weighed  in at a dismal 45kg at the time of his death. Medical experts described his condition as anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder that involves voluntary starvation, extremely low body weight, and excessive exercise.

In preparation for the O2 concert, he consulted Lou Ferrigno, his long time friend, former Mr Universe and actor who played ‘the Hulk’ in ‘The Incredible Hulk’ television series.

But friends, who were with him the night before he died said he looked “pretty much okay.” Jackson had rehearsed his performances on the eve of his death, and was said to have inspected the technical set-up on the stage and camera to be sure all was in order. He was described as ecstatic in anticipation of thrilling audiences with the show of a lifetime at the concert.

John Reid, a professor of cardiology with the British Hypertension Society, ruled out stress as a possible option that led to Jackson’s death. “This is a man who has been living with stress for many years. He must have had many resources to deal with its manifestations,” he rationalised. Reid added that painkillers can also trigger cardiac arrests. “Even prescription drugs can cause death,” he said, “antidepressants, which are so widely used, are associated with increased risk of heart attack.”

Other troubles which had been raised in Jackson’s lifetime would still resurface upon his death. His ability to consummate a relationship had been raised at several instances, particularly when it was reported that he had sired his third child through artificial insemination from a surrogate mother whom he never met. Debbie Rowe, his second wife and nurse, had also been impregnated, allegedly, through intro vitro fertilisation, IVF. And even though Jackson and Rowe had claimed to be the biological parents of Prince Michael and Paris, rumours have emerged that neither Jackson nor Rowe are the real parents. While a cloud of doubt hangs over Rowe’s parental status of the children, it is unmistakable that Prince Michael and Paris are Caucasian and both do not appear racially mixed. There is no evidence that they have African-American origins.

Arnold Klein, Jackson’s former dermatologist and Rowe’s boss, has been suspected to be the real father of Prince Michael and Paris. But he has declined comments on the probable questions that he fathered Prince Michael and Paris. And just like Rowe, Klein is also white.

The fact that Rowe could part with her supposed children with the contractual agreement not to contact them has raised some questions. Could this woman who yearned to bear children for Jackson easily settle for money and retire to a ranch where she showers love on horses, dogs and a parrot? Rowe provides an explanation for her behaviour in a recent interview: “There are three stages in marriage. First it’s puppy love, then it’s for breeding purposes and then, if you make it through all the mess, it’s for companionship.” She added, “I’ve done that breeding stage. I don’t need the rest.”