He was dressed in his trademark attire including his shades, but there was something about the way he swayed off that tour bus.
Well, according to email correspondence obtained by the Los Angeles Times, The King of Pop was actually just coming off a binge. Some 250 pages of messages, which have been uncovered by The L.A. Times reveals that executives were concerned that Jackson’s 50-show gig at the 02 Arena would be an “expensive bust.” In one exchange, AEG’s Randy Phillips wrote to his boss that Jackson was “an emotionally paralyzed mess.”
Just a few hours before Jackson’s press conference, Phillips wrote to AEG President Tim Leiweke, “MJ is locked in his room drunk and despondent…I (am) trying to sober him up.” 90-minutes later, and Jackson then arrived late at the press conference, the one where he did that iconic-peace-sign-posture. Reporters described the press conference as, “odd” and “disjointed.” The Times also reports on emails showing that Phillips and Jackson’s manager had to dress the pop star.
On the other hand AEG’s lawyer, Marvin Putnam, says Phillips exaggerated in his emails, and comes to Jackson’s protection saying the pop star’s behavior was simply a bad case of “nerves.” The Times said the messages will probably play a key role in two upcoming lawsuits set for trial in 2013. The shows’ insurers are asking a judge to nullify a $17.5-million policy that they say AEG got with false claims about Jackson’s health and readiness to perform.
