The conspiracy theories surrounding Bob Marley remain alive decades after the Jamaican singer died of cancer.
The world lost another icon when Marley, who is one of the pioneers of the reggae genre, passed away on May 15, 1981, following his cancer battle. Although he spent months touring and holding shows, he showed signs of deteriorating health due to his acral lentiginous melanoma under his right big toe.
However, there have been conspiracy theories suggesting Marley died of another cause.
Bob Marley's Cause of Death Not Cancer?
Years before his death, Marley lost his wife, Rita, when an assassination attempt happened in his home in 1976. The incident ultimately killed her after sustaining a gunshot wound in the head while the singer suffered wounds to his chest and arm.
According to Mirror UK, the public believed the assassination that almost took his life was politically motivated.
This supported rapper TI's 2018 Instagram update in which he shared a news article about the ex-CIA agent Bill Oxley wrote on his deathbed - which was later debunked. The late ex-CIA member said he acted as a New York Times photographer to grow closer to Marley so he could "implant" cancer into the singer's system through a pair of Converse All-Stars shoes.
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"When he tried on the right shoe, he screamed out," Oxley said. "That was it. His life was over right there and then. The nail in the shoe was tainted with cancer viruses and bacteria."
The ex-CIA agent also reportedly said before his death that the "Sun Is Shining" hitmaker was one of the people he killed for the CIA from 1974 to 1985, admitting that he ended the lives of 17 people in total.
This conspiracy theory, however, was later debunked by debunking sites that found no record of Oxley's association with the CIA.
Bob Marley's Death
Despite the theories, medical news websites were convinced that Bob Marley indeed died of melanoma - although he reportedly should not have passed away because of it.
Skin Cancer Foundation said Marley ignored and missed the warning signs of cancer in his body, including the black spot under his toenail, which he believed was only a soccer injury.
Unfortunately, it was too late when he found out it was a rare, aggressive form of skin cancer. His doctor suggested having his toe amputated, but he refused as it is a sin to have "any part of the body temple" removed in his Rastafarian faith.
Because of this, cancer spread throughout Marley's body and led to his demise.
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