Entertainment
Have you ever wondered about the real father of Billie Jean’s son?

“This man ruined my life,” explains Bill Cooper, adjusting his sunglasses. “He tried to make my mom look like a skeezer… Do people even say ‘skeezer’? NO? Scalpel. Jazzybell?”
If Bill makes it look like he’s stuck in the ’80s, it’s because, in some ways, he’s. For years, 44-year-old Bill Cooper lived in relative solitude. Suffers from agoraphobia, a mental condition brought on by social anxiety that makes him avoid leaving the house. On the rare occasions when the single computer engineer leaves the Southern California suburban home he shares along with his mother, it’s never during the day.
– Bill did it too heliophobia, fear of brilliant or intense sunlight,” explains Bill’s mother, Belinda, who joined theGrio for our exclusive interview. “That’s why he at all times wears sunglasses. But I feel he’s hiding because he’s paranoid. I blame myself. I should never have told him what That Man said about me.
“It’s not your fault,” Bill interjects. “The police asked you an issue and you told the truth. Plus, you technically never said he was “the one.” You just said he could be my father. This man began to disclose himself as soon as he heard that he was the subject of a police investigation. Writing this song was bullshit and This Man knows it.
“That Man” is what the Coopers call the singer, songwriter and maybe the most superstar to ever walk on the moon: Michael Joseph Jackson.
When That Man released his sixth solo project November 30, 1982nobody could have predicted that this may make Jackson the undisputed “King of Pop”. Until 2018, Jackson’s breakthrough album was the best-selling project in recorded music history. For critics and fans, the seven songs on the album constitute the magnum opus of the global superstar.
According to the police, the entire album is an alibi.
But for the Coopers, Thriller is greater than just a group of songs. It’s an atomic bomb that tore their world apart. This is the subject of Belinda’s ire and the bane of Bill’s existence. More importantly, it’s an origin story. This is nearly, but not quite, sort of the true story of Belinda Jeanette Cooper and her only child, William – or as they’re known around the world:
Billie Jean and her son.
Belinda the Beautiful
Belinda Cooper resides proof that Black doesn’t crack.
At the age of 65, Cooper’s stunning beauty is as evident as the day she began her profession as a model, actress and wonder pageant contestant. “Belinda was a bad mama,” Sheila D’Roni told Grio. “As bad as she could be.”
D’Roni knows a thing or two about beautiful women. Before she began hosting, organizing and judging beauty pageants, the woman generally known as Sheila “The 10” D’Roni earned her nickname during the 1962 Miss Thang beauty pageant. As the first contestant in the now-defunct competition to attain perfect scores in every category, D’Roni saw Belinda’s potential. “Back then, black women weren’t allowed to enter major beauty pageants,” D’Roni said. “Miss Thang was principally Miss Black America. Former Miss Thangs include Thelma Evans, Foxy Brown and Helen Willis. And I used to be the queen of black beauty queens… Until Belinda got here along.
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On October 23, 1980, 21-year-old Belinda Cooper broke D’Roni’s scoring record and was crowned Miss Thang 1980. To have a good time, D’Roni invited Belinda to a VIP afterparty at a neighborhood nightclub. Just then, one of the invited stars approached the couple pretty young Thangs.
“This guy with Jheri curls came up and started talking to us,” Belinda told Grio. “Apart from just a few small film roles, it was my first time participating in a beauty pageant. So I knew he was attempting to make me think I looked like a beauty queen from a movie. I just waved at him and said, “It’s me.”
“He accused me of making a scene and kept asking me to dance,” Belinda continued. “The VIP section was too crowded, so we danced on the floor in rounds. He wasn’t really my type – his hair was too greasy. But I won’t lie – This Man could cut a rug! Plus he was consistently buying drinks. I finally told him my name was Billie Jean, which technically wasn’t a lie. That’s what my grandmother called me. After an evening of drinking, dancing and competing, I used to be pretty exhausted. So when he suggested that he should walk me home, I agreed. It was the worst mistake of my life. I blame it on boogie.
Many partygoers confirmed Belinda’s version of events, including when the couple left to walk the three blocks to Belinda’s apartment. “When I saw them leaving, it didn’t seem strange to me,” said a nightclub bouncer, who asked to not be named since it wasn’t I need to start out something. “Mike was smiling from ear to ear like, “The girl is mine.’ I assumed it was just that human nature, but Jackson had an odd look in his eyes. That was the last time I saw them.”
Two months after the superstar who later became “That Man” disappeared on a cold October evening with a girl he knew only as “Billie Jean,” the 1980 Miss Thang winner made history again.
“It is with great disappointment that we accept the resignation of Belinda Jeanette Cooper,” read a press release from Miss Thang Beauty, Inc. “Unfortunately, her pregnancy will prevent her from fulfilling her duties as Miss Thang 1980. While we can’t comment on the rumors about her baby’s father, we wish her all the best in her future endeavors. We also ask for prayers for her quick recovery after the terrible crime she experienced.”
This is where Belinda’s story changed into a nightmare.
Emotion killer
Public sources indicate that in the weeks leading as much as the Miss Thang pageant, there have been 12 fatal attacks in the vicinity of Belinda Cooper’s apartment. Although the attacker left bloodstains on the carpet of the only surviving victim (a girl named Annie, who was not well), DNA science had not yet developed enough to find out the victim’s identity. smooth criminal. According to FBI profilers, the perpetrator likely committed the murders because he derived pleasure from “homicide-related wood.” However, to today the mystery of the serial murders stays unsolved.
“A woman never talks about her personal life,” Belinda told Grio. “Let me just say that when he was in my apartment, This Man didn’t do anything I didn’t want him to do. When we finished, um… talking, we stood outside waiting for That Man’s limo to pick him up. Then everything happened.”
What happened? Was Billie Jean the thirteenth victim? Was Jackson involved?
To piece together the events of that evening, Grio reviewed police interviews with Jackson, Cooper and folks in the area.
Belinda says there was a full moon that night (which Grio confirmed). She and Jackson were waiting outside for his limo to choose him up when she commented on how beautiful the moon looked. “I was just about to tell him my real name,” Belinda recalls. “But as soon as he checked out the moon, he began behaving strangely. You know what it’s like when you all lose interest. Then I heard a sound. It was already near midnight, so I wondered what was lurking in the dark. I do not remember much after that.
Our investigation shows that neighbors remember hearing a high-pitched scream followed by disturbing laughter. “I’m an alto, so it wasn’t me,” she added. “I remember screaming, but I was too scared.” Belinda described a person who appeared out of nowhere, which inserts the description of Thrill’s killer. “He was a tall, slim Caucasian man with long fingernails and a unkempt beard,” Belinda told Grio. “He kind of looked like a hairier, green-eyed guy Chet Holmgren. I froze when he looked me straight in the eyes. But apparently someone wasn’t paralyzed. I looked around and That Man had already beaten him. Then I fainted.”
When Belinda woke up in the hospital, she asked if Michael Jackson had survived the attack. Unfortunately, doctors, nurses and police assumed she was still delirious or drunk. She was in the hospital for weeks and thought Michael Jackson was dead. When it turned out that she was pregnant during a routine medical examination, she assumed that the deceased singer was the father of her child. A number of months later, at her homecoming party, the DJ played the second song from her primary album in the country. As everyone danced, Belinda slowly realized that Jackson had not only abandoned her, but had also abandoned any involvement in the life of her yet unborn child.
Is this kid the son of That Man?
William James Cooper isn’t focused on taking a DNA test.
“Why would I want a father who doesn’t want me,” Grio said. “I believe my mother. Besides, where do I get a DNA sample?”
Neither Bill nor his mother ever filed a paternity suit. In fact, Belinda at all times insisted on Jackson. However, when Belinda told her son the story of her strange encounter with the King of Pop, Bill dropped out of school and commenced his own investigation into the unsolved murders and the identity of his biological father. “It was mostly about bullying,” Bill explained. “My classmates called me ‘Willie the Werewolf’ because I don’t love daylight. Or perhaps it’s because I had a full beard after I was seven. Anyway, I told my third grade teacher that I used to be an Audi 5000 and went to nighttime school as an alternative.
Unfortunately, after years of collecting evidence, Bill still has not solved any of the puzzles. Instead, he’s specializing in his engineering profession. He admits to smoking marijuana 28 days a month, which helps relieve his anxiety. “I don’t feel comfortable during the day,” he explained. “I really don’t feel comfortable at night either, except on a full moon. The only salvation is Reefer.”
Meanwhile, Belinda has been off work since the attack. She received a big settlement in her discrimination lawsuit against Miss Thang. He also receives a big monthly check from an anonymous donor. “All I know is it’s a return address 2300 Jackson Street, she said. “It’s probably a coincidence, but I don’t question fate.”
When asked in the event that they ever wondered if the song “Thriller” could be a real origin story and never “Billie Jean,” Bill fell silent while his mother revealed the strangest part of their entire story.
“Can I tell you a secret?” – Belinda asked. “Neither of us has ever heard this album.”
Now it’s weird.
Entertainment
Key moments from the second week of Sean “Diddy” Combs “Sexual trade process – and

New York (AP) – jurors heard from a dozen witnesses during the second week of testimonies in Sean “Diddy” Combs trial when prosecutors tried to prove Sexual trade and tribute.
Rapper and actor Kid Miraci He was as a witness. Similarly, singer Dawn Richard, previously a bunch Danity Kane.
There were more testimonies of witnesses who said they saw Combs who beat his ex -girlfriend, R&B Cassie singer. The jury also heard testimonies about weapons, forced and a set -off automotive.
The trial will resume on Tuesday after the holidays on the occasion of the Memorial Day.
Brick by brick, prosecutors attempt to prove the tribute
A big part of the case presented by prosecutors has thus far revolved around the accusations, which for years he has been physically and sexually abused Cassie and forced her to sexual meetings called “freaks” with men who received hundreds of dollars for sex together with her.
However, Combs is just not simply accused of sexual offenses. He is accused of racketeers. Prosecutors say that they are going to prove that Combs used his company and employees “to conduct, facilitate and hide his acts of violence, abuse and commercial sex.”
Some of these employees testified in the second week.
George Kaplan, a private assistant of Combs in the years 2013–2015, told the jury that he threw alcohol bottles and drugs and clean the oil for kids from Combs hotel rooms after the music producer finished freak-off.
He said that he had never reported abuse to the authorities, even after Combs defeated Cassie on a personal jet.
Another personal assistant, David James, testified that Combs told him to soak up hotel rooms with viagra, condoms, oil for infants and grease.
He also told how Combs had three pistols on his knees after they were going to Los Angeles Diner, searching for his rival from the plate industry, co -founder of Death Row Records Sge Knight.
Cassie’s mother says the jury that the jealous comb demanded $ 20,000
Cassie briefly dated Kid Miraci during the time when it looked like she could share with a comb.
Cassie’s mother, Regina Ventura, testified that she felt “physically sick” after her daughter sent her e -mail with information that Combs learned about the relationship with Miraci and planned to take revenge, releasing cassie tapes having sex.
Then, said Ventura, Combs contacted her and angrily demanded $ 20,000, saying that he was guilty because he spent money on his profession Cassie.
Ventura tapped in its own capital to attach money to Combs. Just a few days later the money was returned.
Kid Miraci testifies a couple of burglary and a fiery automotive
Kid Miraci testified on Thursday that Cassie was “very stressed, nervous, just scared” when she called him in December 2011 to say that Combs learned that they were meeting.
Miracle said he was confused because he thought Combs and Cassie broke up.
Then, he said, one of the assistants of COMB, he called.
She said that Combs and the adviser were at home Miracles, waiting for a conversation with him. She also said that she was forced to affix the automotive to affix them.
Miracle said he was racing to his home, but Combs disappeared. Inside he testified that he discovered that Christmas presents were opened and his dog was locked in the bathroom. After breaking, his dog was “very shaken and all the time on the edge,” he said.
Then someone set fire to the Miraci automotive, destroying it.
Cudi Set, he met with Combs to force their beef the next day at the Hotel in Los Angeles. When he got here in, he said Combs watching the window, standing together with his hands behind “like Supervillain”.
Combs denied that he had something to do with a burned automotive, but Miraci said he didn’t imagine him.
Dawn Richard singer talks about the threats of death
The first witness of the week, Dawn Richard, got an ideal break in the music industry as a forged of the forged in the reality show combs, “Making the Band”. She performed with two files supported by Combs, Danity Kane and Diddy-Dirty Money.
But Richard said that Combs threatened her life after she saw him defeating Cassie and tried to hit her with a pan in 2009. She said that Combs told her and one other woman that they might “disappear” in the event that they weren’t quiet.
She said she saw combs often beating Cassie. “He would hit her, stew her, pull her, hit her lips,” she said.
Cassie’s longtime friend explained why she is not any longer a friend
Kerry Morgan said that she had collapsed with Cassie, her 17 -year -old friend, after Combs attacked her rage in 2018, demanding to know who she cheats on him with Cassie.
Morgan said he dropped the hanger in her head and tried to strangle her, leaving dizziness, vomiting and shocked, with fingerprints around the neck.
When Morgan considered the lawsuit a month later, she met Cassie in Pizza Parlor, during which Cassie signed a non -discharge agreement in exchange for USD 30,000. But then, she said, Cassie, “she told me that I thought she would get him, that I was coming.” They have not talked since then.
The hotel manager says that Combs all the time left a costly mess
One of the last witnesses of the week was Frédéric Zemmour, general director of L’Ermitage Beverly Hills in California.
He revealed that the profile of COMPS guests noticed that “he always spills the wax of candle on everything and uses excessive amounts of oil.” The profile instructed the staff in order that he “folded the unexpected room after leaving for deep cleaning.”
“We ask for permission for an additional $ 1000 when the guests remain with us to cover the damage in the room,” said the profile of the guy guy’s profile.
Witnesses testified that Combs liked to make use of candles and baby oil during freaks.
Levity finds a spot in the process of violence
Despite the serious topic of the process, there have been a number of light moments.
On Thursday, former Combs, Kaplan, said that his ex -boss “loves apples”.
Combs nodded and smiled when Kaplan said “eating on the side or on many things.”
“Cheeseburgers?” The defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo asked.
“Cheeseburgers is one of them,” said Kaplan as laughter broke out in the courtroom.
Entertainment
Tabitha & Chance Brown celebrates their love with new smells – Essence

Arnold Turner/Getty Images Friday with Tab & Chance
Favorite couple of America, Tabitha and Chance Brown simply dropped something special: their first fragrance collection together. Inspired by their many years with a love history, a new line, Fridays by tab – her business AND Fridays by accident – his businessIt was launched in time for the anniversary. In True Tab and Chance Fashion, the smells are filled with hearts, memory and intentions.
Below Essence he sat with Brown to discuss inspiration, heritage and why their smells are really higher together.
Essence: Congratulations on launching the fragrance collection! What inspired you to create this together?
Tabitha Brown: Thank you! We each loved the smell – we’re an actual junkie of the smell. If you enter our wardrobe, honey, they’re all set in a queue! But besides, we desired to do something unforgettable together. The smell restores moments. You sniff something, and it takes you. So we thought, is there a greater option to rejoice our love – and our anniversary – than to create a fragrance that appears to be a memory?
Chance Brown: I agree with the whole lot that was said. I just really desired to do something with my wife that contributes to our heritage. I like the concept our grandchildren are in a position to say: “My grandparents did it.” I’m on the age by which I give it some thought now – although we wouldn’t have grandchildren yet! But it matters to me.
It’s so thoughtful. Can everyone describe their smell in three words?
TB: Warm. Brown sugar. Embrace. I comprehend it’s technically 4 words, however it’s a climate! I wanted something sweet and comforting – like a warm hug. People say it smells like a hug, and that is what I used to be searching for after that.
CB: For me: male, sexy and long -lasting. I love when the smell continues, even after leaving the room. This is the impact I wanted.
Were there any moments in your relationship that influenced the smell?
TB: Not specific moments, but much more so the things we each love. I’m a woman with food – you realize it – so I leaned into delicious notes equivalent to vanilla, caramel and chocolate. I even began to check perfumery, mix oils and skim books to essentially understand find out how to construct a smell. I don’t love flowers, but I just wanted a touch mixed with these sweet, edible notes.
CB: I used to be inspired by the smells with which we grew up in black households. You know, oils from a person on the corner or this long -term cologne, which you smell within the church or in Howard Homecoming. These memories are priceless – but I wanted to boost this experience and bottles them. Something that smells and seems luxurious.
The bottle is so unique – you possibly can explain the inspiration of the project and what does it mean for you?
TB: When we sat all the way down to design bottles, we knew that we didn’t want something typical. We wanted sculptures – something that seemed that our love story began within the 90s, so aesthetics is certainly a nod to this era. What’s more, bottles are a physical symbol of our connection. They are forced – adapt to the hug. It’s deliberate. This is our option to say: that is love, it’s unity, it’s art.
CB: Do you realize these black paintings of art from that day – those by which my husband and wife hold on? At least one in all those on the wall had every black household. It was also our inspiration. We desired to bottle this sense. The same sense of pride, intimacy and black love that were in these paintings? This is what this project represents.
TB: If you look fastidiously, you can even see small details. One of the bottles even has waves carved at the highest – he! [laughs] We called him “wave”, so it’s like slightly joke and a love letter at the identical time. And the second bottle? It’s me. Together he tells our story.

So a bottle is greater than a pack – is a sculpture of your history?
TB: Exactly. It is functional, symbolic and delightful. Like black love.
How is the smell in line with your brand, which is rooted in love and authenticity?
TB: This fragrance is us. Who we’re. The journey we had – from our modest beginnings to this new chapter – is there. Represents traditional and non -traditional parts of our history.
CB: Our love story had its ups and downs, like many others. We began with a conventional man as a cop, TAB operating from 9 to five-then the whole lot modified when she chased her dreams and built this beautiful life through acting, content, and now business. This fragrance reflects this journey. She is familiar but fresh. Traditional but new. It smells like nothing you smelled before – however it also smells home.
TB: And when will you arrange our smells together? Phew! This is the following level. That’s what we’re – together.
How do you would like couples who have a look at you to feel when wearing this smell?
TB: I need them to feel: “Oh, I’m great and I’m sexy alone … But with my partner? We are unstoppable. We created this fragrance with the mixture in mind – if you meet, it needs to be elevated. This is what we mean and that is what we would like to represent this smell. We not only sell the product; we share our love through the smell.
We need to bring people closer to the smell – a form that makes you must bend, catch up with, stay under someone’s neck. This is magic. And for our lonely people? Honey, if you pass, we would like their heads to show. Someone will stop you: “Wait a moment … how are you?” This is the facility of an excellent smell – it attracts, connects, tells the story.
In addition to the smell, what do you hope couples take from you to cooperate?
CB: I hope that we are going to encourage marriages to maintain him at home – to construct together, dream together, develop together in business. This journey was fun, educational and deeply satisfying. We learn more about ourselves, supporting one another and construct something with the goal. It will not be all the time easy, however it’s value it. And if we could be an example of the way it looks loud to love and cooperate in business? This is a victory.

Entertainment
Terrence J, Rocsi and AJ look back to 25 years “106 & park”: “This program is the love of my life”

25 years have passed since “106 & Park” first broadcast, and even now lives without rent in our cultural memory. It was not only a music deduction program – it was an area. Safe zone. A scene by which black teenagers saw one another by which rising stars changed into icons, and where the hosts felt like your cooler cousins, who only.
Before Instagram and Tiktok algorithms, the program “106 & park” hosted, where culture moved. It gave us the twenty fifth birthday celebration Beyoncé, the last interview with Aaliyah and sofa moments so legendary that they were immortalized in museums. For many of us, regardless of whether we were aspiring journalists, creative, or just children who absorb all this is not only television – it was a plan. And now, once I ask questions, I can say without hesitation: I used to be shaped by a scene.
Now, when Bet is preparing to bring the “106 & park” aftertaste of the Bet 2025 awards, I sat with three hosts who shaped the golden years of the series – TheRrence J, Rocsi Diaz and Aj Calloway – to discuss her legacy, her influence and love, which still stays a long time.
“This program is the love of my life,” said Terrence J. “What we were able to do … It was the peak of the technology of meeting the culture in which America was then. When I look back at 25 years, I see it in a much different way than five years ago, 10 years ago or when I just left the program.”

Sit with Haniyah Philogene from Thegrio on May 7, 2025 (photo: Haniyah Philogene)
“I’m 50 years old. I started the program when I was 26,” Calloway wondered, the first co -hosted series. “To be living to see how the network recognizes work, it is extremely unique … To be here so that my children can see it, my mother – this (means (means) a lot.”
This feeling of a full circuit is also not lost to diaz. “When I hear 25 years later, it doesn’t seem so because (this) the most important thing and the basis of everything we did after” 106 “and the park.” The basis of our profession is this program. “
Is it a heritage? You can feel it in the way they discuss yourself, memories and what it means to be part of something greater than yourself. Terrence J recalls that he is in the audience during the College route organized by AJ and at no cost, observing in real time, because they created the same “real moments” that everybody remembers-as the last interview of Aaliyah.
Energy.
Fashion.
Times.
Regardless of whether Ginuwine moved around the stage on this unforgettable entrance, or Jay-Z and us standing next to one another after changing one of the most iconic rap beef in history, it seemed greater than life.
But this sort of influence didn’t simply occur overnight. Aj, who helped to put the foundation of the series, admits that he couldn’t imagine what the 106 and the park will occur. “Earlier days weren’t spectacular. It was built with sand, grind and the entire large community.
“There was a moment when no one wanted to give us clothes. I called my friends (because) my friend was the owner of a shoe store … It was all on board that something would happen,” he said, describing how his community went through. “I had a yellow leather suit for the first episode, because that’s all that I was given … to my people.”
Despite this, there was strength on this fight – in making culture before making a culture.
“(106 and Park) was” a small engine that might “, and now it is a cultural phenomenon and is an important, key part of many people (upbringing),” said Diaz.
What they built was greater than a program – it was a family. Behind the cameras, love was just as real as what we saw on the screen. From the crew to the crowd, this energy was incomparable.
“There is nothing like a family experience … camaraderie you have (at)” – added Diaz.
And that is why every few months, like Clockwork, discourse on social media begins to revolve about restarting “106 and park”. But as he sees it, what persons are really missing is greater than only a program, but “cultural importance”.
“They lack that they see us, in our best light, authentically. The stories we have supported by us, we support and I do not think that we have already had many” – he emphasized. “We don’t have many black media that authentically tells black stories and culturally significant moments. So they miss the reality, in my opinion, the authenticity of the hosts are fans of people with whom they interviews.”
Terrence J repeated sentiment. “There are many various places to get what you would like.
“106 & Park” was not only a countdown – it was communion. It was an area that celebrated black joy, creativity and complexity of our conditions. When culture is always changing, the heritage of the series serves as a reminder of what is possible after we tell our own stories, for us, through us, and not using a filter.
And now fans may have the opportunity to experience this magic. On June 9, Bet restores the heritage of “106 & Park” back to the middle stage with a special celebration of anniversaries during the BET 2025 awards.


Haniyah Philogene is a Haitian-American multimedia storyteller and lifestyle and entertainment author covering all things of culture. He sets out with passion for digital media to find latest ways of telling and sharing stories.
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