"Michael Jackson Conspiracy" by Aphrodite Jones

Post Reply New Topic

For anyone who doesn't know, Aphrodite Jones is a professional criminal profiler, investigator, journalist, and author. Her 2002 book "All She Wanted" was the basis for Hilary Swank's 2008 film "Boys Don't Cry".

In 2006, she wrote and published "Michael Jackson Conspiracy", detailing the events that took place inside the Santa Maria County courtroom in 2005. Right from the start, Mrs. Jones admits she followed the "pack mentality" that deemed Michael guilty from the start, and it wasn't until almost 6 months after the verdict she started thinking about the mass media's collective attitude at the time.

Granted a court order, Aphrodite looked over the trial evidence herself, eventually reaching the conclusion it appeared that Michael was being extorted. She goes behind the scenes of both the 2003 and 1993 allegations, explaining many details I'd never even heard about. She doesn't tell people what to believe in this book, merely presenting all the evidence so readers can make that choice on their own. Quotes are lifted from many people involved with the trial, including celebrities Jay Leno, Chris Tucker, and Macaulay Culkin, to name a few.

I'd easily recommend this book to anyone with the slightest interest in Michael, the allegations, or the trial. Aphrodite re-published the book in 2012, with an extra chapter on Michael's former doctor Conrad Murray.

For those who have read this book, or saw the "True Crime" episode about the trial, what are your thoughts?

Grandstanding conspiracy theory for personal gain, nothing less.

As long as there is money to be made from Michael Jackson's legacy, people will be writing books about him.

That's quite cynical; is it impossible for you to believe that anyone might actually be after the truth when they write a book about a high-profile criminal case? In the introduction, Aphrodite says she actually self-published the first run of "Conspiracy", because even those who'd worked with her for years didn't want anything to do with a book that made Michael look innocent.

Sure, she could have been after the truth; but when it comes to book-writing, the payoff is often more important than any truth she may have found, especially when the name of a celebrity is involved.

In journalism, as in war, the first casualty is often the truth.

Follow the money.

Well, she clearly didn't need the money, having written several others in addition to her TV show and daily journalism. In the book, she explains that her main motivation with "Conspiracy" was two-fold: letting people know what really took place in the courtroom, and exposing the mass media's bias toward guilt for almost every celebrity, regardless of the facts.

Here's an interview she did when "Conspiracy" first came out. For the record, I'm no fan of Bill O'Reilly, but its the shortest clip I could find.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epm3dDAurDU[/youtube]

For the record, I don't give a damn about your "evidence". I'm also tired of hearing and reading about "Poor, poor Michael Jackson".

He was a junkie, and he died a junkie's death. He used his money and influence to beat a child molestation rap on at least two occasions that we know of. He wanted so bad to remain youthful that he even tried to change his face to look like Peter Pan's. Now he is dead.

Too bad; so sad; bye-bye.

He was a morphine addict at one point, but conquered it, even writing a song about it on his "Blood on the Dance Floor" album. The first case never went to court, and Sneddon didn't even indict him. That choice haunted MJ for the next decade, which is why he fought back the second time around. He was already youthful in his heart, where it mattered most. What few surgeries he had were mostly done for health reasons, like vitiligo and the burns which never healed from the 1984 Pepsi commercial.

Before you condemn someone - famous or not - look at the facts.