Why are we still pretending?

There is something about the way people discuss Michael Jackson's death that has never sat right with me.

Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009. It is a documented, established fact. Yet, years later, there are still countless videos, posts, edits and entire online discussions dedicated to proving that he never actually died.

People analyse photographs, compare voices, freeze frames, examine silhouettes, interpret random gestures and turn completely unrelated people into supposed versions of Michael.

The theories have names, timelines, supposed clues and endless explanations. Some people claim he escaped his own life. Others believe that he is living under another identity. And some insist that Dave Dave was actually Michael Jackson.

I understand curiosity. I understand wanting answers. I understand how difficult it can be to accept the death of someone whose music has been part of your life.

But at what point does curiosity become disrespect?

A family saying goodbye.

On September 3, 2009, Michael was laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

His funeral was a private ceremony attended by family and close friends. His golden casket was covered in flowers. His brothers and sisters gathered to say goodbye to someone they had known long before the rest of the world knew his name.

They were not saying goodbye to the King of Pop as the world understood him. They were saying goodbye to their brother.

I think that distinction matters.

He was not a clue.

One of the things that bothers me most is the theory involving Dave Dave.

People have spent years comparing his face, voice, movements and public appearances to Michael Jackson, presenting ordinary details as if they were evidence of a hidden identity.

But Dave Dave was a real human being with his own name, experiences, relationships and life.

He was not a character introduced into Michael Jackson's story for people online to investigate. He was not a disguise, a secret identity or a puzzle waiting to be solved.

It is incredibly unfair to reduce another person's entire identity to a theory about somebody else.

"But he was perfectly fine hours before his death."

This is one of the arguments I see repeatedly.

People say that Michael was smiling, working, rehearsing, talking or looking perfectly normal shortly before his death. They use that as evidence that something must have been wrong with the official account.

But that argument misunderstands what actually happened.

Michael did not die because of an obvious illness that had to visibly progress in front of everyone. The official cause of death was acute propofol intoxication, with benzodiazepines also contributing.

A person can look well, speak normally, smile, work or appear energetic and still be at risk of a sudden medical emergency caused by medication.

There does not have to be an obvious physical warning sign visible to everyone around them.

Looking healthy is not proof that someone is medically safe. Being able to perform, smile or walk around does not tell strangers everything happening inside a person's body.

Questioning the medical circumstances is one thing. Ignoring documented findings simply because someone looked fine in a video is another.

He was somebody's brother.

I think people sometimes forget how strange it is to talk about celebrities as if they are fictional characters.

We see their faces everywhere. We listen to their voices. We watch interviews, performances, documentaries and old recordings. Eventually, it can become easy to forget that there is an actual human being behind all of it.

Michael Jackson was not just a name, a stage costume, a collection of music videos or a mysterious figure for internet users to investigate.

He had children. He had siblings. He had friends. He had people who knew him outside the public image that the world constantly discussed.

Whatever someone's personal opinion of him may be, his death affected real people.

I cannot imagine what it must feel like for his family and the people who loved him to repeatedly encounter videos suggesting that his death never happened.

When someone's death becomes content.

The internet has an unusual relationship with death.

People can turn almost anything into a trend, a challenge, a mystery or a series of short videos. Even something as personal as losing a human being can become a source of endless content.

A creator makes a video claiming to have discovered a clue. Another person makes a response. Someone else creates a compilation of supposedly suspicious moments. Then thousands of people repeat the same claims.

Not everything needs to become a mystery. Not every photograph contains a hidden message. Not every coincidence is evidence.

What the official record says.

Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, at the age of 50. The Los Angeles County Coroner established the cause of death as acute propofol intoxication, with benzodiazepines contributing.

The manner of death was classified as homicide in forensic terminology. His personal physician, Conrad Murray, was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

There is a difference between an unanswered question, a documented fact and a theory someone wants to believe.

Photographs from the private funeral ↗

The funeral in photographs · RTVE ↗

Michael Jackson's funeral · The Guardian ↗

Let him rest.

I am not asking people to stop talking about Michael Jackson. I am not asking anyone to forget him, stop listening to his music or avoid discussing his life.

I am asking people to remember that there are limits to what should be done in the name of fandom.

Dave Dave deserved his own identity. Michael Jackson deserved to be remembered as a human being. His family deserved to grieve without having their loss turned into an internet argument.

We should be able to talk about his death with care, acknowledge the facts and still recognise how much his music meant to people.

I would rather see another generation discover his music, learn about his performances and appreciate his creativity than watch another video trying to prove that he is hiding behind somebody else's face.