Michael Jackson will forever be remembered as perhaps the greatest entertainer ever, but a new report reveals that he was a mere shell of himself in his final days.
According to 250 pages worth of confidential emails obtained by the LA Times, the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which was set to produce the King of Pop’s much anticipated “This Is It” tour, were deeply concerned about Jackson’s stability, with execs referring to him as “self loathing” and “lazy,” among other things.
Jackson’s behavior was becoming more and more erratic, according to the emails, and fear was growing that the show would not go on. “MJ is locked in his room drunk and despondent,” AEG’s Randy Phillips said in an email to his boss AEG President Tim Leiweke at the time. “I [am] trying to sober him up. He is an emotionally paralyzed mess riddled with self loathing and doubt now that it is show time.”
Michael Jackson had not performed in a live concert tour in a decade, so it’s understandable that he was deeply concerned his body and voice would not hold up to the rigors of the back to back 50 shows planned. Expectations from his fans were over the top since they were believing he would and could perform the same sort of exhaustively physical show he was known for, despite the fact that he was now in his 50’s, frail and not in the best of health. At some point, the reality of this tour he HAD to do because he was broke set in and was likely overwhelming.
“MJ is not in shape enough yet to sing this stuff live and dance at the same time,” the show’s musical director told supervisors in an email. Michael’s death soon after proved those words to be truer than anyone knew.
I wish they'd just leave Mike alone. Let him rest in peace. I wanna remember him for the king of Pop he was and not hear about him being drunk or anything negative.