Revealing the real cause of Michael Jackson’s death, a documentary produced by TMZ shows that the King of Pop received painkillers and sleeping pills from many doctors for more than two decades.

In late June 2009, Michael Jackson was found dead at his home in Los Angeles. The 50-year-old star’s death was confirmed to have been caused by an overdose of the anesthetic propofol. Dr. Conrad Murray, who regularly prescribed the drug to Michael, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison, but was paroled after two years.

Michael Jackson on tour.

While Dr. Conrad Murray has endured public scorn for the past 13 years, the documentary TMZ Investigates: Who Really Killed Michael Jackson provides an overview, showing that many people should be held responsible for the departure of the king of world music, including Michael Jackson himself.

According to Inspector Orlando Martinez, who was in charge of the case back then, Michael Jackson had a history of abusing painkillers, sleeping pills, and anesthetics for about two decades. He knew how to inject himself. He contacted many doctors. From each of them, he requested a different type of medicine. They met the singer’s needs and were unaware of the existence of the other doctors.

Michael Jackson created 19 identities (IDs) to conveniently collect different types of drugs. Renowned dermatologist Arnold Klein, one of Michael Jackson’s close doctors, even kept a notebook detailing the drugs that matched each of the singer’s identities.

It all started in 1984. After suffering second and third degree burns on his scalp from a fireworks accident while filming a commercial, Michael Jackson was given painkillers to help him recover. In a videotape excerpted from the film, Michael said: “I became more and more dependent on painkillers to get through the tour. I didn’t like it. It was like touring through hell.”

Michael Jackson’s condition worsened after he met dermatologist Arnold Klein. In a 2011 interview with TMZ , the doctor said the King of Pop felt euphoric because the painkiller Demerol had become a daily occurrence.

Addiction expert Drew Pinsky points out that Michael Jackson took 300 milligrams of the synthetic painkiller Demerol at a time. This is considered a huge dose. The singer mentioned this in the song Morphine released in 1997.

Michael Jackson’s mental health reached a critical point in 2009. While he was rehearsing for his This Is Us tour, director Kenny Ortega sensed signs of paranoia, anxiety, and obsessiveness. “I think the best thing we can do is get Michael evaluated by a top psychiatrist as soon as possible,” the director wrote in an email. “No one is looking at him day to day.”

Michael’s body had already accumulated many drugs that were destroying his health. Doctor Harry Glassman said that the singer was responsible for his own death. Inspector Orlando Martinez pointed out: “With such drug habits, it was a miracle that Michael Jackson lived to be 50 years old.”

If he were still alive, Michael Jackson would have turned 64 on August 29. He is considered one of the most important figures in culture, art and entertainment of the 20th century. In a career spanning more than four decades, Michael made many contributions to music, dance and fashion.

Recalling the death of Michael Jackson, the New York Post commented: “The world seemed to stop moving at the news of the passing of the pop legend”. After his death, the singer’s personal life continued to be controversial, the most noisy being the accusations that he sexually harassed homosexual minors in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2019, this story was recorded in the documentary Leaving Neverland and caused a lot of controversy .

TMZ Investigates: Who Really Killed Michael Jackson will air on US television on September 6. The film marks another documentary about the story behind the death of a world entertainment legend, following the film about Marilyn Monroe at the end of April.