So What's Wrong With Michael Jackson? (Update: TMZ Says He's Dead) (Update: Washington Post Confirms: Michael Jackson is Dead)

99 out of 100 celebrity watchers are thinking "drugs." But you know both Michael Jackson and you are older than you used to be, right? We doubt MJ's the type to watch his cholesterol.

We know everyone says this, but more as it develops.

Update: TMZ says he's dead.

Update 2: Reax: "The 'Thriller' video... it's really coming true now, isn't it?" (Phineas); "So Farrah Fawcett is the Darby Crash to Michael Jackson's John Lennon." (daveweigel).

Update 3: Someone (the guy down the way, you know, that guy) just made the excellent point that "cardiac arrest" just means his heart had stopped -- doesn't mean he had a heart attack. So, now we're thinking an icepick to the back of the head.

Update 2: Washington Post says he's dead*, so he's dead. They uncovered Watergate.

Update 3: CNN, NYT et alia aren't going for it. But put "michael jackson dead' in Twitter and go get a drink of water, and when you come back it's "2275 more results since you started searching."

Update 4: *WashPost pulled their story. Here's the screen grab, though:

The squib reads, "There are a million things you can say about Michael Jackson, and they will likely all be said over the next few days. But here's one undeniable truth -- the man was responsible for some of the most perfect pop songs ever. So for now, just enjoy one of them." Plus a YouTube video.

Update 5: Nearly everyone is reporting Jackson dead now. Now that it's close to a sure thing, we're getting an eerie feeling. Just a few months ago Jackson was planning to give his "last public performances" in July. And after all the years of lawsuits and tabloid yak, people were still very excited about it. If all you knew about him was what turned up on Entertainment Tonight and in late-show monologues, you wouldn't understand why. But very few people knew only that about him. And as we expect to hear a lot of his music over the next few days, we may wind up forgetting about that part entirely, at least for a while.