Michael Jackson’s doctor sued for feeding singer’s drug addiction

A lawsuit has been filed against another one of Michael Jackson’s doctors, this time against his dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein.

Jason Pfeiffer, Klein’s former assistant, filed the lawsuit, which accuses Klein of fueling the singer’s addiction by providing him with muscle relaxers and narcotics and getting him “too drugged up and disoriented to stand on his own,”.

Pfeiffer said that he and Klein’s own nurses were concerned that Jackson was being “overmedicated” by Klein and when he voiced his opinion, was told to “keep his mouth shut.”

Pfeiffer stated in the legal documents that Michael Jackson asked for a doctor’s note to “get out of a court appearance” in October 2008 and Klein issued a note claiming that the singer suffered from a Staph infection and fabricated a test.

There was also a claim made that Klein tried to give Jackson prescription muscle relaxers in 2009 by writing a prescription in Pfeiffer’s name. The documents state that this was a common practice and Klein wrote prescriptions for amyl nitrate, Percocet, Cialis, Phentermine and Levitra in Pfeiffer’s name, for his own consumption as well as for other patients.

Pfeiffer is suing the dermatologist for wrongful termination, hour and wage violations, sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment, among other things.

The legal documents mention that Klein required Pfeiffer to help him find sexual partners and to prepare for sexual encounters with “masseurs, paid escorts and prostitutes” and “required that Pfeiffer wash Klein’s groin.” Pfeiffer also recounted an instance where he was asked to obtain homeless men for his former employer to have sex with.

Pfeiffer said he suffers from emotional problems as a result from Klein’s alleged abuse and is suing him for unspecified damages.

Dr. Conrad Murray, accused of manslaughter and facing trial in September, has accused Klein in his legal documents of getting Jackson addicted to Demerol, a narcotic which he reportedly gave the singer 51 injections in the three months before Jackson’s death.

Klein admitted on CNN’s “Larry King Live” in July 2009 that he had prescribed the singer Demerol, but denied that Jackson was “riddled with needle marks.”

Klein’s attorney, Mira Hashmall, denied the claims.

“Jason Pfeiffer’s allegations are scurrilous and false. His claims lack merit and will be proven baseless in court,” Hashmall said in a statement.

Michael Jackson tribute turning into a fiasco

Michael Forever: The Tribute Concert is turning into a fiasco with no acts announced, family squabbles, estate representatives announcing they have not given approval, issues with pricing tickets, sales put on hold, and serious concerns by many on the timing of this event considering it occurs during the manslaughter trial that many feel is the only way to get justice in the death of Jackson.
Read more

Jackson family split over Michael Jackson tribute

The Jackson clan seem split on how appropriate a Michael Jackson tribute concert is according to media sources. The family press conference attended by Katherine, La Toya, Jackie, Tito and Marlon announced the show in Cardiff, Wales on October 8. Katherine said it would be a “world-class event.”

A one-off tribute show to Michael Jackson featuring some of the world’s biggest artists will be held in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium and beamed across the world, it was announced last night.

Michael Forever – The Tribute Concert has been backed by members of the Jackson family and will be shown to 30 countries in both 2D and 3D.

The line-up for the show, which will take place on October 8, is yet to be announced but is said to include major stars who Jackson himself had admired before his death in June 2009.

Brothers Jermaine and Randy do not agree with this concert particularly the timing. They released their own statement against the concert

Jermaine and Randy said: “While we wholeheartedly support the spirit of a tribute that honours our brother, we find it impossible to support an event that is due to take place during the criminal trial surrounding Michael’s death.

“There will come a time and place for an amazing and deserving tribute to Michael. But we feel that the most important tribute we can give to our brother at this time is to seek justice in his name.”

Now this is not the first time that Jermaine has been at odds with the family over a planned tribute and Randy has been very outspoken regarded business dealings the family have had following Michael’s death.

No artists have yet been announced for ‘Michael Forever: The Tribute Concert’ – which will be held in front of 75,000 fans. Reports state that performers will be revealed daily until August 4, when tickets will go on sale.

Tito promised the concert will feature “all the artists [Michael] admired and respected so much.

“Michael loved doing things on a large, major scale. This is definitely one that he would approve.”

Global Live Events, the company behind the concert, said this tribute will be a fitting tribute to the King of Pop’s musical legacy.

Chris Hunt, president of Global Live Events, said: “We wanted to do something decent and worthy of Michael’s musical genius yet something fun and authentic that you would envision Michael attending with excitement and joy surrounded by talent that he respected and loved.”

Go to Michael Jackson tribute concert planned in Cardiff for a video of the press conference

What do you think about not only this tribute but also the timing of it?

Michael Jackson’s doctor day in court postponed

Dr. Conrad Murray’s day in court has been postponed because lawyers are bogged down reviewing hours of footage captured during the rehearsals for Michael Jackson’s This Is It concert.

In a conference with lawyers on Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor accepted the requests to delay a July 12 hearing to July 20. He said he wants to know then when the involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr Conrad Murray can go forward. It is now set for September 8.

Prosecutors want to show jurors clips from the posthumous feature film This Is It to prove Jackson was healthy in the days before his death. Dr. Murray’s team, however, believe it shows the singer was ill.
Murray has pleaded not guilty. The transcript of the conference with the judge and lawyers was released on Thursday.

Lawyers indicated it will take weeks for them to view all of the relevant video recordings of Jackson. Although the lawyers have been going through the boxes since June 28 they state they have gotten through only one of 21 boxes of materials.

“So far, we have found a lot of important stuff,” said defense lawyer Nareg Gourjian.

Lawyers have been barred from discussing publicly any evidence they find in the videos.

Prosecutor Deborah Brazil said she has been working along with Gourjian, defense lawyer Ed Chernoff, Sony lawyer Kevin Vick and a technician going through material on computer hard drives.

Gourjian, who originally estimated there were 100 hours of footage from rehearsals, said he now believes there is much more.

“There are about eight to ten different cameras that were recording the rehearsals and each one has different views and different footage,” he said. “So it is critical that we review the footage from each camera.”

Let us know what you think about this latest delay.

Jackson’s This is It insurance may not be paid

The insurers of Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” London comeback concerts have asked a judge to nullify a $17.5 million policy taken out by promoters, saying they were never told that the singer was taking powerful drugs.

The This is It insurance policy taken out with Lloyd’s of London underwriter Cathedral Capital Ltd.’s syndicate may not ever be paid out as the company goes to the courts trying to void the policy covering the risk of the late Michael Jackson not appearing at performances.

Just days after Jackson’s death, a lawyer acting for AEG Live issued a claim under the policy and submitted Jackson’s death certificate along with it.
The claim was for $17.5 million for the policy issued in April 2009 for Mr. Jackson under the alias “Mark Jones,” according to the Associated Press.

The insurance company is alleging the concert promoter failed to provide necessary medical information and details about Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician accused in the singer’s death, the AP reported. It goes on to say that a medical examination of Jackson required by the insurance policy was never carried out. This seems to be contrary to media reports and Jackson flew through the examination with ‘flying colours’.

The complaint reportedly states that AEG Live should have disclosed Mr. Jackson’s medical history, “including but not limited to, his apparent prescription drug use and/or drug addiction.”

The insurance company claims it has tried to get the information, documentation and witness statements from AEG that it needed to decide whether the claim was valid, but could not obtain the documentation and could not proceed with witness examinations.

“We had no choice but to issue a complaint for declaratory relief in order to secure the court’s assistance in reaching a determination regarding whether the claim is covered or not and in obtaining the necessary information for that determination”

So now we ask, should the insurance company have to pay out this policy?

Let us know what you think

Jackson’s estate can continue with lawsuit against Secret Vault

Michael Jackson’s estate can continue with its lawsuit aginst Howard Mann who operates MichaelJacksonSecretVault.com.

A federal judge is allowing a lawsuit to continue against the operator of a website that sells various MJ memorabilia which was launched last year.

The site sells rare artwork, photographs, sound recordings and other merchandise. Katherine Jackson was in business with Mann but there is some indication they may be former business partners now but we have not be able to confirm this.

Mann attempted to dismiss the case based on a 2004 lawsuit that was dismissed at a preliminary stage, but the judge ruled that the record in that case was “undeveloped” and the identity of the claims are subject to factual dispute.

Let us know what you think

Jackson estate settles with Heal the World charity

The estate of Michael Jackson reached a settlement this week with the Heal the World Foundation (HTWF).

The charity was sued in 2009.  the estate alleged that the charity misused trademarks to associate itself with Michael Jackson’s now defunct charity of the same name.

HTWF said Jackson’s lawyers had given it permission to run the foundation in 2005.

A trial was due to begin to decide ownership of the trademarks.  Now with this agreement, although specifics have not been released, it appears the charity can no longer use the Heal the World name or Jackson’s likeness.

Jackson’s estate had sought to block the use of words and phrases associated with the star, including “King of Pop” and “Thriller”.

Trouble began for the charity when it registered a number of Jackson-related trademarks, applied for a further 41 and sold merchandise using them.  When we visited the site following MJ’s death, his image was all over the site leaving any reader to believe it was his original foundation.  That is probably where the trouble began.

The settlement calls for Jackson’s estate to retain the rights to the Heal the World charity and rights to any trademarks the current foundation held.

Jackson founded Heal the World in 1992 but later abandoned it.

HTWF’s current director, Melissa Johnson, claimed one of Jackson’s former lawyers told her the pop star wanted her to run the foundation in 2005.  Recently, the charity added Jackson’s three children also collaborated with the charity, sitting on its youth board of advisors and his mother Katherine.

Let us know what you think.

Michael Jackson artwork creates outrage

As in life and now in death, the sad baby dangling moment keeps cropping up in the media. Noted by many fans as a ‘sick’ piece of art depicting a notorious moment in 2002, Michael Jackson fans are now being accused of making death threats over artwork

The owners of a Hackney music studio who installed a sculpture of Michael Jackson dangling his baby son out of a window called Madonna and Child recreates the moment in 2002 when the singer held Prince Michael II over the balcony of a hotel window in Berlin. Fans say the artwork is an insult to the King of Pop’s memory.

On the michaeljackson.com website, fans have discussed methods of removing the statue, including throwing stones at it.

Studio owner Viv Broughton said: “Since the Evening Standard published an article about the sculpture we have been inundated with weird and scary emails from Michael Jackson fans.

“Madonna and Child is as much about extreme fan worship as it is about Michael Jackson. Lots of people have come here to view it. Most people think it’s brilliant.”

The sculpture was created by Swedish artist Maria von Köhler and is being showing at 209 Hackney Road until May 1.

We think this artwork is disgusting on so many levels. It depicts a moment in time (seconds really if you look at the video) of a lapse of judgment where maybe good intentions were misinterpreted. The child in question is alive and the humiliation this could cause Blanket warrants an immediate removal regardless of feelings towards MJ’s legacy.

Let us know what you think.

Mohamed Fayed unveils Michael Jackson tribute

Mohamed Al-Fayed, chairman of the Cottagers and close friend of Michael Jackson, unveiled a statue of MJ outside Fulham’s Craven Cottage stadium in London this week. During his introduction he told fans of the club they could go and support another team if they did not like his tribute.

“Why is it bizarre?” Fayed told The Associated Press. “Football fans love it. If some stupid fans don’t understand and appreciate such a gift, they can go to hell. I don’t want them to be fans. If they don’t understand and don’t believe in things I believe in, they can go to Chelsea, they can go to anywhere else.”

Mohamed Al-Fayed was a friend of the pop star. Although he stated that, “People will queue to come and visit it from all over Britain and it is something that I and everybody else should be proud of” some questioned the rationale behind the billionaire’s latest move.

Fayed, 78, known for purchasing a controlling interest in the Harrods department store in 1985 and the sad death of his son, Dodi, with Diana, Princess of Wales, in August 1997, is no stranger to controversy.

This 7-foot-6 plaster and resin statue of Michael Jackson was erected outside the stadium of English Premier League soccer club Fulham.

Let us know what you think.

Liz Taylor laid to rest near Michael Jackson

As in life and now in death the deep connection of Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson cannot be denied.

Fierce and loyal friends for decades, the two now are laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in Glendale. Read more

« Previous Page — Next Page »