Michael Jackson Secrets Unveiled in Court: Singer Suffered from 'Self Doubt' and Addiction
Long kept secrets behind the life of pop icon Michael Jackson may soon be revealed as the trial of his wrongful death suit begins Tuesday.
While better known for his successful musical career and dance ability, it appears that behind all of the glamour Michael Jackson was harboring secrets about his life that not even his family knew. Those secrets are likely to unfold as the case against concert promoter AEG Live begins.
Katherine Jackson, the mother of the superstar, has filed a lawsuit against AEG, citing wrongful death. The suit has been filed in her name and in the name of Michael's three kids: Prince, Paris, and Blanket. In the suit Jackson claims that the concert promotion company pushed Michael to perform beyond his limits for the sake of a profit.
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"They didn't care who got lost in the wash," Katherine Jackson's attorney, Brian Panish, told Billboard. Panish accused AEG of pushing Michael's physician, Conrad Murray, to choose between the health of his patient and a large paycheck.
AEG's attorney, Marvin S. Putnam, has argued, however, the Michael was a man of many secrets.
"The truth is, Michael Jackson fooled everyone," Putnam said. "He made sure that no one, nobody, knew his deepest darkest secrets."
Michael Jackson's death was ruled an accident due to an overdose of propofol, a sedation drug used by anesthesiologists which, as a side effect, produces the feeling of euphoria.
"One thing became very, very clear," Putnam said. "While the world may not have heard of propofol, Mr. Jackson certainly had. The evidence is going to show you that he had been using that drug for years and years."
The attorney also argued that Jackson's drug usage was kept a secret from almost all that knew him.
"Mr. Jackson got very, very, good at hiding his addiction," Putnam said. "He didn't let anyone see it. Not his staff, not his children. This was the private Michael Jackson."
Without the drug, it appears that even the King of Pop suffered from self-doubt.
In a March 2009 note from AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips to Tim Leiweke, the former CEO of AEG'S parent company, Phillips revealed a piece of Jackson's struggle.
"This is the scariest thing I have ever seen," Phillips wrote Leiweke. "He is an emotionally paralyzed mess riddled with self-loathing and doubt now that it's show time. He's scared to death."
