The desire to be the greatest of all time is a never-ending curse. Because no matter how great you become, there’s always a constant need to prove you’re still the best. And nobody lived that curse more than Michael Jackson. Are you pleased now with the way you the way you perform? >> with anything. I’m a perfectionist.
Yeah. It’s part of who I am. Off the Wall had to be better than Motown. Thriller had to beat Off the Wall. And he kept trying to top himself with every album he recorded after. Every tour had to make the last one look small. Not because the fans or the label demanded it. It’s because Michael expected it of himself.
>> >> That kind of mentality is what made him the greatest entertainer who ever lived. And unfortunately, it’s also what made him the perfect target. This is the final curtain call. Okay? And see you in July. >> [cheering] >> By 2008, Michael Jackson hadn’t toured in over a decade.
He was 50 years old, his public image was in ruins, and he was sitting on over $400 million in debt. He needed one more show, one more moment to prove to the world and to himself that he was still him. >> >> And there were people around him who knew that. People who understood Michael’s need to perform wasn’t just ambition anymore.
It became desperation. And sometimes in the music industry, one person’s desperation is another person’s opportunity. Even as a teenager, Michael had an obsession for greatness. He practiced non-stop. He was constantly pushing Motown for solo songs. Nothing was going to stop him. Actually, you become like a stage addict.
I really am. Like when there are off days and there is no show, I’m up at night dancing just to sing. It’s really strange. I guess I’m an addict. Can’t help it. His love for music and his dedication to the craft gave him the power to push through dangerous rehearsals and performances. He spent hours working on his Motown 25 routine while recovering from surgery.
He even kept dancing when his hair caught fire during the Pepsi commercial. And in 1995, he pushed himself to the point of passing out during rehearsals for an HBO special. The need to be the best wasn’t a choice for Michael. It was in his blood. And that’s exactly what made him vulnerable to what came next. AEG giving the world reason to cheer.
In 2008, a company called AEG Live approached Michael with a proposal. AEG owns arenas, they promote tours, they’re behind some of the biggest concerts on the planet. And they saw something in Michael that nobody else was willing to bet on at the time. A comeback. This is the moment. This is it. >> >> The deal was massive.
50 shows at London’s O2 Arena. A residency called This Is It. Michael and AEG stood to earn hundreds of millions of dollars. And after calculating ticket sales, merch, sponsorships, media rights, estimates reached over a billion dollars. >> >> See, Michael was in a lot of financial debt, and AEG already advanced him tens of millions before the residency started.
So, this wasn’t a situation where Michael could just walk away if things got bad. The money was already spent. Contracts were signed. AEG needed this tour to happen. And a cancellation would be financial disaster. And Michael needed it, too. Not just for the money. He needed the world to see him one more time and remember what he was.
This was his resurrection. Everything was on the line for everybody involved. >> >> But, right away, things started falling apart. March 5th, 2009. The day Michael was supposed to appear at the O2 Arena in London to announce the tour to the world. Thousands of fans, hundreds of journalists, cameras ready to broadcast to the world.
But at the same time, AEG Live CEO, a man named Randy Phillips, wrote an email to the parent company’s executives and said, “MJ is locked in his room drunk and despondent.” And you wrote, “I screamed at him so loud the walls are shaking.” Yes, that was an That was an exaggeration, but I did raise my voice.
All right. And was it also an exaggeration when you wrote, “This is the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.”? The promoter blamed London traffic when Jackson was 90 minutes late for the announcement that day. And of course they never say anything to the public. They rushed him to the O2. Michael walked out on the stage and told the world, “This is it.
” And to everybody watching, it looked like the King of Pop was back. This is it. >> [cheering and screaming] >> But behind the scenes, AEG already knew he wasn’t okay. >> >> But they pushed forward anyway. Two months later, Randy Phillips even went on CNN and told the public that Michael Jackson was as healthy as he can be.
>> >> No health problems whatsoever. Over the next couple of months, there were growing concerns amongst the internal team about Michael’s health. Randy sent an email to Paul Gongaware, the co-CEO. “We need to pull the plug now.” After some back and forth, the team decided it was time to bring in a doctor.
But not just any doctor. It had to be someone that Michael trusted. >> >> Dr. Conrad Murray was a cardiologist, and he first met Michael back in 2006 in Vegas. Murray had been treating Michael on and off for a few years, but by 2009, he was drowning in his own debt. He was facing foreclosure on his home.
He owed child support to multiple women. His medical practice was falling apart. He was behind on everything. And then came the offer. AEG Live drafted a contract to pay Murray $150,000 a month to serve as Michael Jackson’s personal physician. Now, 150,000 sounds real nice when you’re deep in debt and can’t pay your mortgage.
But, here’s the catch. The contract was never actually signed by Michael. Murray was never technically paid, but he was already treating Michael in anticipation for a big payday. The doctor responsible for keeping Michael Jackson healthy had every financial incentive in the world to keep him performing no matter what.
If the tour gets canceled, Murray doesn’t get paid. The company executives at AEG knew this and they used Murray as leverage whenever there was concerns brought up about Michael’s health. They had the doctor in their back pocket. Did you ever talk to Dr. Murray about Michael Jackson’s health? >> >> Not so much about his health, no.
Uh what what what in particular did you talk to him about? Well, I talked to him about being willing to to get get him whatever he needed >> >> uh to do what he had to do. So, now you got three parties locked into this situation. Michael, who needs to prove he’s still the greatest. AEG, who needs the tour to happen to recoup their investment. And Dr.
Murray, who needs Michael to push through to collect his paycheck. Every single person around Michael Jackson had a financial reason to keep him going. And for a while, it looked like it actually might work. In the This Is It documentary, Michael looks incredible. He’s dancing. He’s directing the band. He’s obsessing over every detail, the way he always did.
>> >> But, what the documentary didn’t show you is what’s happening in between the rehearsals. Michael was losing weight. He was missing rehearsals. One of the show engineers even emailed that MJ is not in shape enough yet to sing this stuff and dance at the same time. Now, keep in mind, this email was sent 1 month before the first show.
People on the production team, they were starting to notice. But, nobody wanted to be the person who pulled the plug. As the first show date was quickly approaching, the pressure was reaching a boiling point. Dancers were making sure every step was in line. >> >> The band spent hours making sure every song was perfect.
Sometimes even repeating the same section of a song over and over again. And not only did Michael have to sound his best, he also had to look his best. And that was a job for a Karen Faye. Just a little bit softer. Karen was Michael’s hair and makeup artist for over 20 years. He was like a brother to her.
And when she was brought on board, she noticed something wasn’t quite right. In an email she wrote to one of Michael’s managers, Frank DiLeo, >> >> “I have seen with my own eyes him deteriorate physically in a month.” Karen also had friends who were fans and would sometimes spend time with Michael at different events and backstage meet and greets.
And a month before the first show date, emails from those fans started coming in. One fan wrote, >> >> “Michael is too thin. When we hugged, I felt there was literally nothing to him.” In another email, a fan wrote something that’s even more chilling. “Last week I was in LA with a friend to see Michael.
She said when he took his jacket off, she saw a skeleton.” She went on to say, “If we do nothing, he will die.” His promoter struck a deal for Jackson to stay for 40 more shows. Well, he’s now panicking. He says he’s not physically strong enough for that many shows. He says he’s not a big eater and if he doesn’t put on some weight, he’ll never get through it.
>> Karen became terrified for Michael. >> >> She was working hands-on with him on a daily basis and could physically see his deterioration. Near the end of Karen’s email to Michael’s manager, she says, >> >> “You do not want him collapsing in front of thousands of people. His bones are protruding.
” And then at the end of the email she says, “I’m leaving this in your hands as you have instructed me to do so.” Now, according to other emails and personal accounts, >> >> Michael was pretty stubborn. And there wasn’t much his manager, let alone his hair stylist, could say to make him walk away from one of the most important moments of his life.
>> You know, there were a couple of days we’d say, “Mike, are you all right? Are you, you know, are you taking anything? Are you seeing Well, no. Why? What would make you think that? Don’t ask me that. He said that. I have kids. I’m not doing that. Well, what are you going to say? You know, he’s a grown man.
The only people who could put a stop to this whole thing were the people in charge of AEG Live. Randy Phillips, Paul Gongaware, and their boss, Tim Leiweke. Now, if you don’t know Tim Leiweke, he was the president of the Denver Nuggets in the ’90s. >> >> And in 2005, he was actually indicted by the Department of Justice for orchestrating a bid-rigging scheme.
But in 2009, he’s the big boss at AEG. June 19th, 2009, 3 weeks before the first show, production manager John Hougdahl, one of the guys on the ground watching Michael rehearse every day, he sends an email to Randy Phillips. MJ was sent home without stepping foot on stage. He was a basket case, and Kenny was worried he would embarrass himself on stage, or worse yet, be hurt.
The Kenny he’s referring to is Kenny Ortega. Now, Ortega was the show’s director and choreographer. He’d worked with Michael before on the Dangerous and History tours. He knew Michael. He knew what Michael looked like when he was on, and he knew what he looked like when something was wrong.
And can you describe what you personally observed on that day, June 19th, 2009? That my friend wasn’t right, that he wasn’t well, there was something going on that was deeply troubling me. And of course, by my friend, you mean Michael? Yes. Michael Jackson. >> Yes. The next day, Ortega sent a panicked email to Randy Phillips.
He said, “Michael appeared weak and fatigued, that he was trembling, rambling, and obsessing.” And Ortega recommended Michael have a psychological exam. >> >> Randy responded, but he didn’t seem too concerned. Now, if you remember a few months ago, Randy said that we need to pull the plug now, which would have been the right call, but now he’s in too deep.
Now, Kenny wasn’t satisfied with Randy’s response, so he wrote back. “I honestly don’t think he’s ready for this based on his continued physical weakening and deepening emotional state. It is reminiscent of what Karen, Bush, Travis, and I remember just before he fainted causing HBO concerts to be canceled.
” Now, this is a pivotal moment. All the alarms are going off. Michael’s falling apart. The fans can see it. The show director, the man that’s closest to Michael creatively, he’s yelling out loud in the email that putting Michael Jackson on stage was dangerous. And what did Randy Phillips do? He sent an email.
Well, he sent a few emails, but it’s what he said in those emails that would be Michael’s demise. Instead of canceling rehearsals, instead of bringing in a medical team, calling Michael’s family, he emails Kenny back and he says, “It is critical that neither you, me, or anyone around this show >> >> become amateur psychiatrists or physicians.
” Then he goes on to sing Dr. Murray’s praises, and he writes, “The doctor said, ‘Michael is not only physically equipped to perform, and that discouraging him to will hasten his decline instead of stopping it.'” Randy says that this doctor is extremely successful. “We check everyone out and does not need this gig, so he is totally unbiased and ethical.
” You almost have to laugh at the way that he wrote the last part. It’s kind of like, “Here, climb in my van. I promise I I kidnap you. You can trust me. Now, what makes this even more sinister is that Randy emailed his boss Tim in response to this and said, “This guy is really starting to concern me.
” Referring to Kenny Ortega. “This guy is really starting to concern me. Read his email and my response. Dr. Murray and I are meeting with MJ at 4:00 p.m. today at the Forum RP. Why is Randy Phillips sending these to you, Tim?” >> >> I don’t know. You should ask Randy. And what what what was it cons- What concerned you about Mr.
Ortega’s email to you? Yeah, I don’t I don’t remember. So, Randy and Tim end up calling a meeting at Michael’s house. Randy, Tim, Kenny, Michael, and Dr. Conrad Murray. Now, before we talk about the meeting, it’s important to look at an email that Paul Gongaware sent Kenny Ortega a few days earlier.
Now, Kenny sent an email to Paul first saying that the doctor didn’t clear Michael for rehearsal. >> >> And Paul’s response really shines a light on what happens at the meeting. Paul replies, “We want to remind Murray that it’s AEG, not MJ, who’s paying his salary. We want to remind him what is expected of him.” Mr.
[clears throat] Gongaware, I want to direct your attention to the middle of the first page based on the assumptions that AEG is your company and MJ is Michael Jackson. Do you have an understanding of what that means? No, I don’t understand it because we weren’t paying his salary. So, why would you write that? I’ve no idea.
At the meeting, according to a police detective summary, when Ortega got in Michael’s face about his concerns, Dr. Murray told everyone in the room, “You’re not a doctor. Butt out.” The one person raising the alarm got silenced by the one person with the biggest financial incentive to keep things moving. When I had a meeting at the house with AEG officials, and they pointed to Michael, the guy who could not pay me for months after taking care of him, that he was penniless. I was shocked.
As there was that time when Michael came to me trembling and trying to get me away from the AEG official, who was Randy Phillips. I was shocked out of state. I should have just picked my bags up and leave. Behind the scenes for weeks, Dr. Murray was giving Michael nightly infusions of propofol, a surgical anesthetic, just to get him to sleep.
We have a gentleman here that needs help and he’s not breathing yet. He’s not breathing and we need to we’re trying to pump him, but he’s not Okay. Okay. >> How old is He’s uh 50 years old, sir. 50. Okay. He’s unconscious. He’s not breathing? Yes, he’s not breathing, sir. You know, on the morning of June 25th, 2009, the doctor gave Michael a series of other drugs, >> >> but when Michael still couldn’t get to sleep after a long night, he gave him 25 mg of propofol.
Michael was finally able to get to sleep. Except this time, he never woke up. Michael Jackson suffered cardiac arrest this afternoon. He was rushed to UCLA Medical Center. >> The King of Pop died suddenly at the age of 50 at about 2:30 this afternoon. He was on the verge of a 50-date comeback tour, but today he collapsed with a massive cardiac arrest, rushed to the hospital in a coma.
Doctors could not save him. This was 5 days after the meeting. 5 days after Randy Phillips, Paul Gongaware, Tim Lawicki, and Dr. Murray ignored Kenny Ortega’s warning and did everything in their power to make sure the show went on. You had your cell phone. I had my cell phone. You didn’t call 911. I did not call 911.
You called his assistant Yes. to call security. Yes. This is vital time. Conrad Murray was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter. During the criminal trial, prosecutors argued that Murray acted recklessly by using a surgical anesthetic to treat insomnia, and was criminally negligent in Michael’s death.
The jury agreed and Murray was convicted. The court has determined that the appropriate term is the high term of 4 years imprisonment. But that’s not the end of it. Because the real question was never just about Murray. It was about the people who put him there. In 2010, Michael’s mother Katherine Jackson filed a wrongful death lawsuit against AEG Live on behalf of herself >> >> and Michael’s three children.
The lawsuit accused AEG of putting their desire for profits from the This Is It tour over the health and safety of Michael. They were seeking 1.5 billion in damages. The trial lasted 5 months. Dozens of witnesses testified and 250 pages of internal documents. The jury made a decision.
AEG Live never would have agreed to finance this tour if it knew Mr. Jackson was playing Russian roulette every night in his bedroom. In the end, it seems the jury was persuaded by that argument, ruling once again that AEG did hire Conrad Murray, but that Conrad Murray was not unfit for the job.
And in other words, AEG was not culpable for his death. Uh the verdict means that the Jackson family essentially walks away with nothing. AEG’s lawyers, they argued that Michael Jackson was a 50-year-old man responsible for his own health who had a history of doctor shopping. They said AEG Live did not have a crystal ball. But there was one thing that they could see coming.
The money. One of the darkest revelations in the trial came a week after Michael’s death. Weeks after the man they watched deteriorate and push forward anyway was gone, Randy Phillips sent one more email. Michael’s death is a terrible tragedy. >> >> But life must go on. AEG will make a fortune from merch sales, ticket retention, the touring exhibition, and the film and DVD.
And they did. AEG was allowed to sell Michael Jackson tour merchandise. They shared in the profits from the This Is It documentary, a film made entirely from rehearsal footage of a man who they knew was at the end of his rope. >> >> So, Michael’s gone. The doctor served two years >> >> and the corporation walks free.
But see, there’s one silver lining to the story. See, AEG can make as much money as they want, but they can never own Michael’s legacy. There’s one thing Michael loved more than the music and being the best, and that was his fans and how he made us feel. The emails don’t define him. >> >> The trial doesn’t define him.
We define him. Every time somebody puts on Thriller at a party, or every time a kid tries to do the moonwalk for the first time, almost every artist looks up to Michael. They know they can never be him, but Michael’s legacy inspires everyone to >> >> be just a little bit better, a little bit greater, and AEG Live can never take that.
Now, Michael was no stranger to speaking out about companies that were trying to exploit him. We have access to these emails in hindsight, but Michael didn’t know at the time. But one company Michael knew all about was Sony, >> >> and he spent the last few years of his life trying to take him down.
If you want to hear more about that story, watch this next video here. Until next time. Peace.
