In the wake of rapper Nipsey Hussle’s murder, conspiracy theories about Dr. Sebi and those connected to him have begun to surface. Before Hussle was killed, he revealed that he was working on a documentary about the herbalist and healer, born Alfredo Bowman, whose cause of death has been questioned by some. The theories also connect Dr. Sebi to singing group TLC’s Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, who died in an accident shortly after meeting with him.
Lisa Lopes, nicknamed “Left Eye,” died in a car crash in Honduras on April 25, 2002. According to a New York Times article published at the time of her death, she was in Honduras with video producers who were “working on a documentary about Ms. Lopes’s ‘spiritual journey.'” Her spokesman said that she was at the wheel of the car when she lost control and veered off the road; although she died at the scene, the seven other passengers in the car were treated in La Ceiba hospital.
According to The List, Lopes frequently went to Honduras to do cleanses under the guidance of Dr. Sebi, who she considered to be her guru. According to the New York Times, her visit with Dr. Sebi during her final, fatal trip to Honduras is featured in her posthumous documentary, Last Days of Lef Eye. The article describes her as looking “exceptionally muscular, bright-eyed and beautiful; she’s apparently an exponent of Dr. Sebi’s prescriptions, urging her entourage to take his unpalatable potions.” The documentary juxtaposes news reports at the time that Sebi’s homeopathic cures were crazy, as Lopes says “he really opened my eyes.”
Dr. Sebi’s death in 2016 was reported to be caused by pneumonia, a couple of months after he was arrested by Honduras’ Ministerio Público for money laundering. The Root reported that the circumstances surrounding his death were questioned by those who believed Dr. Sebi “became a threat to a multibillion-dollar medical industry that not only relies on continued sickness but also needs it,” after he claimed he could cure AIDS, cancer, diabetes and blindness with diet and homeopathic remedies. The Root says that one of the mysteries surrounding Dr. Sebi’s life and death was that “Dr. Sebi’s arrest records have not been released, so it remains unclear as to why he was arrested, released and then rearrested for carrying so much cash, since it wouldn’t have been unusual for a healer who had treated several high-profile clients—who reportedly included Michael Jackson, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, John Travolta and Eddie Murphy—to have a large amount of money on him. Lopes was actually in Honduras visiting Dr. Sebi when she died.”
The conspiracy suggests that both Lopes and Hussle were killed because they wanted to spread awareness about Dr. Sebi’s alleged healing abilities; however, Eric Holder has been taken into custody as the suspected shooter of Nipsey Hussle. As for Lisa Lopes? Two of the witnesses in the car with her at the time of her accident were her siblings (both of whom survived), and the death was ruled a tragic accident.
Though there is no evidence connecting her death to her relationship with Dr. Sebi, there is another dark and eerie detail about that trip to Honduras. Weeks before her accident, the New York Post reported that she was riding in a van that struck and killed a 10-year-old boy. The List says that she was haunted by the experiences and that in the documentary it is revealed Lopes “blamed a spirit for the accident, the same spirit that she previously said was chasing her.”