Entertainment / Celebrity
Michael Jackson feared London gig rehearsal would kill him, son tells court
27 Jun 2013 at 04:28hrs | Views
Michael Jackson feared the punishing rehearsals for his London gigs would be the death of him, his eldest son Prince told a court.
Speaking for the first time about his dad's last days, he said the superstar would often be left in tears after talks over the O2 comeback.
The 16-year-old said yesterday: "After he got off the phone, he would cry. He'd say, 'They're going to kill me, they're going to kill me.'"
Prince also claimed Randy Phillips, boss of concert promoter AEG Live, grabbed Dr Conrad Murray during a visit to the singer's rented Los Angeles home in the lead up to the gigs and was aggressive.
He said: "He was grabbing his elbow. It looked ­aggressive to me.
"They were really close and he was making hand motions."
But Prince admitted he could not hear what ­Phillips was saying to the physician.
Jackson was not at the home as he was in London rehearsing.
Prince told how he called his father to let him know he was there. It was his last conversation with him.
Dr Murray was found guilty of ­involuntary manslaughter after he gave Jacko a fatal dose of anaesthetic in June 2009 and is now in jail.
Prince recalled the grim day when Jackson was rushed to hospital by paramedics from their home.
He told the LA court: "I was ­downstairs in the sitting room and I heard screaming upstairs.
"I ran upstairs and saw Conrad Murray doing CPR on my dad. Dr Murray was screaming while doing CPR. My sister [Paris] came upstairs, she was screaming all the time and saying she wanted to see Dad."
The youngster told how Dr Murray broke the news their dad had died after medics failed to resuscitate him by telling them: "Sorry kids, Dad is dead.''
Asked how they reacted, Prince replied: "We just cried."
The boy also told how he, Paris, 15, and 11-year-old brother Blanket had no idea their dad was the most famous man on the planet until stumbling across a video of his concert.
He added: "He wanted us to be normal.
"Me and my sister found out how famous he was by watching a video of one of his concerts and there were girls screaming and being carried out on stretchers. Then we knew.
"When I went out with him I'd wear a mask, he wanted to protect us so people would not know how we looked so we could go out without him."
Prince was giving evidence in the Jackson family's $40billion claim.
They say AEG was responsible for Jacko's premature death through the negligent hiring and handling of Dr Murray.
AEG claim Jackson was responsible as he hired Murray himself.
The trial is in its ninth week and is expected to run until August.
Speaking for the first time about his dad's last days, he said the superstar would often be left in tears after talks over the O2 comeback.
The 16-year-old said yesterday: "After he got off the phone, he would cry. He'd say, 'They're going to kill me, they're going to kill me.'"
Prince also claimed Randy Phillips, boss of concert promoter AEG Live, grabbed Dr Conrad Murray during a visit to the singer's rented Los Angeles home in the lead up to the gigs and was aggressive.
He said: "He was grabbing his elbow. It looked ­aggressive to me.
"They were really close and he was making hand motions."
But Prince admitted he could not hear what ­Phillips was saying to the physician.
Jackson was not at the home as he was in London rehearsing.
Prince told how he called his father to let him know he was there. It was his last conversation with him.
Dr Murray was found guilty of ­involuntary manslaughter after he gave Jacko a fatal dose of anaesthetic in June 2009 and is now in jail.
Prince recalled the grim day when Jackson was rushed to hospital by paramedics from their home.
"I ran upstairs and saw Conrad Murray doing CPR on my dad. Dr Murray was screaming while doing CPR. My sister [Paris] came upstairs, she was screaming all the time and saying she wanted to see Dad."
The youngster told how Dr Murray broke the news their dad had died after medics failed to resuscitate him by telling them: "Sorry kids, Dad is dead.''
Asked how they reacted, Prince replied: "We just cried."
The boy also told how he, Paris, 15, and 11-year-old brother Blanket had no idea their dad was the most famous man on the planet until stumbling across a video of his concert.
He added: "He wanted us to be normal.
"Me and my sister found out how famous he was by watching a video of one of his concerts and there were girls screaming and being carried out on stretchers. Then we knew.
"When I went out with him I'd wear a mask, he wanted to protect us so people would not know how we looked so we could go out without him."
Prince was giving evidence in the Jackson family's $40billion claim.
They say AEG was responsible for Jacko's premature death through the negligent hiring and handling of Dr Murray.
AEG claim Jackson was responsible as he hired Murray himself.
The trial is in its ninth week and is expected to run until August.
Source - Mirror
