If you love conspiracy theories, cults, and true crime, listen to the newest Betches podcast, Not Another True Crime Podcast, where we talk about all that sh*t! Listen here.

Brittany Murphy passed away tragically nearly nine years ago, but the details of her death are still super sketchy and the basis of some of the internet’s finest conspiracy theories to this day. If you haven’t accidentally stayed up until 4am watching Brittany Murphy conspiracy videos on YouTube, you haven’t lived. Before I dive into the five craziest theories surrounding her death, it’s important to know a few “facts.” (Ugh, I’ve always wanted to put some shady quotation marks around the word facts in an article. Bless up.)

Brittany Murphy collapsed in her bathroom on December 20, 2009, when she was only 32. She had been dealing with flu-like symptoms for a few days, and her death was ruled an “accident”. (Throwing in some more shady quotation marks, you guys.) Basically, the police were like, “she had pneumonia, anemia, and she had multiple prescription drugs in her system, and that’s why she died.” OKAY, sure.

At the time, Brittany lived with her mother, Sharon Murphy, and her husband, screenwriter Simon Monjack. Unlike most celebrity relationships, Brittany and Simon had actually known each other for eight years and had been married for two at this point. Still, when she died, people pointed fingers at him because he was kind of a creepy-looking dude. Then, five months later, Simon died of the exact same cause, also in their Hollywood Hills home. Uh, WTF?! Here are the five most insane theories about what happened.



1. It Was Basically ‘American Horror Story’: Murder House

I’m going to be totally transparent here: I’m obsessed with this conspiracy theory because it was kind of my first foray into watching sh*tty YouTube conspiracy videos. The conspiracy that Brittany lived in a haunted, sinister, or whatever-creepy-term-you-want-to-call-it house sent me into an internet blackhole in 2016 when the home went on the market after a complete rebuild.

According to The Daily Mail, Brittany Murphy bought the Hollywood Hills home from Britney Spears in 2003. Britney Spears lived there with Justin Timberlake, and apparently thought it was spooky as f*ck.

Simon had said that the whole time Brittany Murphy lived there, she was vocal about how much she hated it.

It’s kind of impossible to point to anything that could prove the house was haunted, other than rumors that both Brits felt that there was something off. A more likely explanation for Brittany and Simon’s deaths in the home is that there was toxic mold. (That has not been proven.) Of course, how the mold got there is another story. Brittany’s mother apparently thinks the builders of the home were to blame for it, but nobody knows for sure. Some reports also suggest that the couple were total hoarders, and their house was kind of a pack rat situation, which could have resulted in some molding.

2. She Was Poisoned

After Brittany and Simon’s deaths, Brittany’s father, Angelo Bertolotti, ordered a toxicology test. The lab report revealed that Brittany had really high levels of heavy metal in her hair, which could have been a result of ingesting rat poison. Apparently, the symptoms that both she and Simon suffered before their deaths (a headache, dizziness, and confusion) are consistent with the symptoms of being given rat poison. The report did suggest that the substance could have been administered with criminal intent, but there has yet to be a follow-up investigation to see just who could have done it. Then again, many argue that things like hair dye could also cause metals to show up in the report. Hmmm…

3. It Was The Government

I mean, has there ever been a sketchy occurrence in history that someone didn’t try to blame the government for? You had to know this was coming.

Top Priority: The Terror Within is a documentary about a Homeland Security breach that Brittany was apparently wrapped up in. According to The Huffington Post, the documentary asserts that Brittany and Simon were on a government watch list and that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were trying to kick him out of the country.

The documentary also claims Brittany was friends with a whistleblower, Julia Davis, and that Brittany got caught in the crosshairs trying to defend her. The couple was apparently convinced that the government was spying on them. This theory suggests that Brittany and Simon were prob poisoned by the government. Sound crazy? It is. We delve deep into this theory on the second episode of Not Another True Crime Podcast, which you can listen to below.

4. Brittany’s Mom Did It

Brittany’s father, Angelo, thinks that her mother is to blame for the mysterious death. And he’s been pretty vocal about it. It’s why he ordered testing to see what was really in Brittany’s system when she died.

“There are many unanswered questions that have to be addressed,” Angelo said in an interview. “Out of three people living together in the same house, only one survives and benefits financially.”

Before Brittany died, Sharon apparently had her execute a will and leave everything in her name. Simon was obv left out of the whole thing. Then, after Brittany’s death, Sharon started selling all of her sh*t in auctions. Even her passport and clothing from movies she’d starred in were up for grabs. So sus.

5. Harvey Weinstein Did It

Okay, this one is probably a major stretch, but isn’t that what you all came here for? This Reddit thread suggests that Harvey Weinstein did it, and honestly, you don’t need to do much to convince me on this one. The dude f*cking sucks.

There’s pretty much no basis to this theory, other than the fact that Salma Hayek has said that Harvey has threatened to kill her, as well as some whispers that other stars have backed up these claims with their own Harvey horror stories. Some other Redditers also theorize that there was also potentially some beef between Harvey, Simon, and Brittany.

And just to round this article out, here’s a video of Taryn Manning playing a DJ set where she gives a shoutout to her 8 Mile co-star and friend, Brittany Murphy, right as the music and equipment suddenly shut down. SpOooOoky.

If you love conspiracy theories, cults, and true crime, listen to the newest Betches podcast, Not Another True Crime Podcast, where we talk about all that sh*t! Listen here.

Images: Giphy (4)