Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009. The whole world stops, fans cry, news channels change their programming and the official cause is a heart attack. The only headline in your newspaper tonight is the death of Michael Jackson. However, 3 years later, the Los Angeles Times would publish something that would completely change the way we understand this death.
250 pages of internal emails will leak, emails exchanged within the company that produced Michael’s tour, where the company’s leaders knew very well what condition Michael was in, but they decided to push ahead anyway, and his family members also had suspicions about the doctor and the medications used. Today, we’re going to uncover the dark truth behind the emails about Michael Jackson’s death.
So to understand what happened, friends, we first need to go back to 2008 and especially understand what state Michael Jackson was in at that time. Because at that moment, Michael was no longer the untouchable star we all knew. He is 50 years old, he hasn’t done any huge tours for a while and beyond his absence from the stage, he is also someone who has accumulated a lot of debt.
We are over $400 million in debt. To give you an idea, it’s the equivalent of several big Hollywood movie budgets and in fact, it’s a mountain of debt that’s accumulating because of these extravagant expenses. There is his Neverland estate, there is his art collection and of course the various lawsuits that have ruined him over the years.
For example, there was a major trial in 2005 for child abuse that destroyed his public image. So of course, she was still acquitted of the charges against her. I talked about it in my old video that I made about Michael. I’ll put the link above in the description if you want to see it and you know how it works in public opinion even if you leave the media they will still consider you guilty or at least they will sow doubt.
So there are going to be years of embarrassing media coverage and negative photos of him. So you see that at that moment Michael needed to rebuild himself, and not just financially. He actually has a deep need to reproach himself for something, but not only himself, but also the industry, the fans, and the media. And in fact, that’s the engine that will follow all the events that will happen.
And unfortunately, it is also this vulnerability, this desire, this motivation that other people will come to exploit. Because in the fall of 2008, there was a company called AEG Live that was going to contact Michael. So AEG Live is one of the biggest concert promoters in the world. They own venues, they organize world tours.
In fact, if you will, they’re kind of behind most of the biggest global events. And he sees Michael’s situation as a potential to be exploited and to bet on, a bit like a comeback if you will. So, they’re going to invite him to a villa to present the idea to him. And before this meeting, one of the leaders of the company AEG, named Paul Gangawuer, will send an internal email to his colleagues to give them some strategic advice before the meeting.
So, he’s going to say that in this email. Dressed casually, Michael Jackson did not trust men in suits. Expect to talk to Micket about anything and everything. We’re going to talk to him about big profits, not give him a real net figure. He thinks he’s well aware of all this. By the way, if you want to have access to all the emails I’m going to talk about in this video, I’ll put links to some articles in the description so that it will allow you to understand the story in even more detail.
So you can see from the outset that AEG is not in an equal relationship with Michael. He doesn’t really treat him like an artist to be respected, huh, which he should be, but rather like a product to be packaged and marketed. Then during the discussion, came the proposal for 50 concerts at the O2 Arena in London, and it would therefore be a residency called This Is, for a total of $132 million net for Michael.
And let me tell you, for a man who’s up to his neck in debt , this comes a bit like a lifeline. And for AEG, including tickets, media rights, merchandising, sponsorship, we are approaching a revenue that is estimated at over one billion dollars. So, as you can imagine, everyone here has something to gain. So far, so good.
Michael will therefore sign and in January 2009, the contract will be finalized. However, this contract contains clauses that will change everything. You know those famous clauses that nobody reads but are really important. AEG is already going to advance tens of millions of dollars to Michael even before he sings or dances.
So this will greatly convince Michael because it will help him get out of debt as quickly as possible. But the real clause is that if Michael decides to cancel or withdraw during the concerts, AEG reserves the right to take control of his company and recover the revenue from Michael’s catalogue in order to recoup their costs and reimburse the concerts that Michael could not perform.
In other words, it’s a bit of a trap because if Michael starts to make his decisions, he won’t be able to go back without giving up his rights. And it is literally the most valuable thing in his possession . And the leaders of AEG know this, that’s why they’re pressing on it because you’ll see as the case unfolds that they are some real sharks .
It’s a bit of a cliché, you know, about American businessmen with money. And besides, Paul Ganggawer is going to write it in black and white in an email, he’s going to say, and I quote, “We don’t want to be forced to stop what Michael Jackson might try to do because he’s lazy, unstable and seeks to satisfy his immediate needs.
There’s no choice, he signed this contract.” So once again, here you can see how the tour producers talk about the artist. So, lazy and unstable are some of the doubts they might have. There is another AEG executive who will send to Randy Philippe, who is actually the CEO of AEG and who we will talk about a lot in this video.
A link to a video of Michael at the MTV Music Awards in 2001 where he looks completely lost on stage. The leader will then ask Randy, ” Could that happen?” And Randy responds with time and repetition. But he has no choice, otherwise it’s bankruptcy. And that’s not all, because the famous contract also stipulates having insurance.
So 9 days after the signing, a New York doctor went to see Michael and his specialty was that he was an ENT specialist in the voice, particularly for professional singers. And in his report, he will dwell at length on Michael’s vocal cords but he will say nothing about the various addictions Michael may have to medication.
He also won’t mention the old concerts that had to be cancelled due to overdoses. And to the box on the medical questionnaire that asks if Michael has ever been treated for excessive use of medication or alcohol, Michael will simply answer no. And indeed, this report will be used by EG to present Michael as a perfect candidate to the insurance companies.
Except, of course, that’s completely false. German Jackson, so his brother says it himself, his family members know it. Michael was addicted to a lot of medication, especially to help him sleep, because he was extremely anxious. He was under enormous pressure, and even his former doctors said so. But AEG will use this certificate for the following months precisely to be able to continue their adventure.
And at this point, friends, tell yourselves that the countdown has begun and you will see that there will be absolutely nothing but red flags. March 5, 2009, is therefore the big day. Today, there’s a conference at the to Arena in London to officially announce the My Cup tour. Hundreds of journalists are here, thousands of fans have made the trip, and cameras from all over the world are focused on this scene.
A scene in which Michael will have to appear, but he’s not there yet. So obviously, there’s panic on the organization’s side. And meanwhile , in Michael’s hotel, Wandy Philippe, the CEO of AEG Live, is going to send an email to one of his colleagues named Tim and tell him this. Michael is locked in his room, drunk and dejected.
I’m trying to sober up. I scream so loudly that the walls vibrate in a foul, unresponsive state, consumed by self-hatred . He doubts that this is the right time to show himself to the public. That’s the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. So these words, friends, it’s still an exchange between AEG Live executives.
Just before one of the biggest press conferences in music history. They are going to announce a world tour but at the same time there is Michael in his room who is completely distressed. So obviously, on AG’s side, there’s total panic. And the real question is how are they going to be able to justify his absence, his lateness? Well, they’ll come out with the classic excuse.
You know the map of traffic jams in London. It’s the same excuse you give your boss when you arrive late to work in the morning because you didn’t hear your alarm. So you woke up too late. Well, Michael finally arrives, 90 minutes late, he gets on stage and announces to everyone this and Z. And so, in everyone’s general mind, well, the king of pop is back.
Months later, Randy Philippe went on CNN and announced that Michael Jackson was in good health and there were no problems in that regard. Well, that’s what’s happening in front of CNN, except behind the scenes, concerns are starting to mount. The team therefore decides that they will need a personal physician who will accompany Michael at all times.
A doctor who can actually monitor his health throughout the tour and potentially, well, prescribe him the medication he needs. Except that at the beginning, the AG team was going to propose a local doctor, so a London doctor, but Michael was going to insist that he wanted a doctor from the US, a guy he was used to working with so he could trust him.
So it’s not just any doctor who’s going to choose. a doctor he usually works with named Conrade Murray, a cardiologist he had already consulted, notably in Vegas in 2006, and who had been following him somewhat intermittently since then. However, you have to understand something else in parallel: Conrade’s situation at that moment was catastrophic. Hold on tight.
The guy is losing his house; it’s being seized by the bank. He owes alimony to three different women. His medical practice is collapsing and he is absolutely behind on all his payments. As a result, he has an extraordinary debt. So, needless to say, this situation comes as a lifeline to him. But you will see that it will also be a very bad motivation which will unfortunately lead him to do the unthinkable later.
So AEG, we’re going to make them an offer they simply can’t refuse. It’s worth offering him $150 million a month to be Michael’s personal physician during the tour. So, we’re talking about a very nice sum here. They themselves say that they are not used to paying this kind of sum, but this is Michael and apparently these are his conditions.
So Dr. Conrade will accept directly. It’s an irresistible offer, especially given his current situation . Except, as I told you, this will create very bad motivations for him because in the contract with Conrade, there is something that stipulates that if the tour is cancelled or stopped, then Conrade will stop being paid.
A contract, by the way, that was never signed by Michael, right? It was only between Dr. Conrade and Aeg Live. So, in fact, based on the calculations, the doctor who is supposed to be looking after Michael’s health has a huge financial interest in Michael going on stage no matter what .
Moreover, Paul Kongawer, one of AEG’s executives, wrote in an email, and I quote, “We want to remind Conrad that it is AEG, not Michael, who pays his salary. We want to remind him what is expected of him.” So. So once again, we’re adding more pressure because AG has exactly the same interest. They want Michael to stay healthy.
That means he will be able to hold his events and fill the AGM coffers. And Michael also has this financial interest. He is drowning in debt and on top of that, he has a bit of his honor to save. He needs to come back, he needs to make a comeback. As you know, he has been a perfectionist at heart since he was young. So he has to perform and come back with a show that will impress everyone and his audience.
So now you understand that all three parties, AEG, the doctor, and Michael, have a strong interest. And from May 2009 onwards, that’s when the alarm bells will start ringing. And at first, they won’t come from the AEG executives, they’ll actually come from people who work with Michael every day, who do rehearsals with him.
For example, there is Karine Fe, who has been Michael’s makeup artist and hairstylist for 20 years. So she’s been following from the beginning. She actually knows Michael’s expressions , his body, his habits, and so on, very well. And she’s going to write in an email to Michael Flank’s manager, Dile Leo, telling him this. I saw with my own eyes Michael physically deteriorate within a month. His excesses.
You don’t want it to collapse in front of thousands of people, but I’m leaving it in your hands as you asked me to. In other words, Michael is in a dangerous situation, but there’s nothing I can do. So you are the one who bears the responsibility. But it’s not over yet. There are also Michael fans who will watch and say things like that.
Michael is too thin. When we hugged each other , I felt that he literally had nothing left. Last week, I was in Los Angeles with a friend for Michael and when he took off his jacket, she had a skeleton. If we do nothing, he will die. And the same goes for the musical director. He’s going to write an email saying, and I quote, “Michael isn’t fit enough yet to sing all that while dancing at the same time.
” Given that this email was sent literally a month before the scheduled date. So in fact, you can see that more and more people are starting to raise the alarm, and meanwhile, Lloyd’s insurance company, which is a London company that will cover the tour, is also starting to worry. She will want extended coverage in case of death or illness.
So she’s going to set up a whole medical examination with four doctors over four hours. They want to do a complete check-up, so blood tests and a cardiac examination. Except that the company Aug knows. If they do these tests, they will realize that Michael is in a deplorable state and they will surely have to cancel the tour.
Imagine that even just seeing the rehearsal footage before the tour, you could already see that he was super tired, super tired. So with a full 4-hour assessment, it will be obvious. So AEG will find a way to circumvent this exam. They will initially offer a simple oral briefing with the doctor, a complete idiot.
So there is still a big difference between an oral briefing and a full 4-hour exam. As a result, the insurance company will obviously refuse and will request Michael’s medical records from the last 5 years. They will also ask for specific information about his medical appointments and the details of his treatments since 2003.
And in fact, AEG will simply never respond and in fact Dr. Conrade will simply say that he spoke to Michael but did not authorize it. So it is June 19, 2009, 6 days before Michael’s death. That day, Michael will arrive at rehearsals and Kenny Ortega, the production manager, will look at him in a rather strange way.
Knowing Kin Ortega, he is someone who is used to working with Michael. For example, he worked with him on the Dangerous tour . So he actually knows how Michael feels when he is in a normal state and here he can clearly see that Michael is completely exhausted. So he’s going to decide to send him back home. Once again, there will be discussions between different leaders of AEG, including Randy Philippe, who has already been talked about a lot, who will say this.
Michael was sent home without ever setting foot on stage. It was a disaster. Kenny was afraid he would make a fool of himself or get hurt. And the next day Kenny Ortega himself replied to Randy Philippe and this email, my friends, is one of the most damning documents in the whole story. So he’s going to say, and I quote, “Mauel seemed weak and exhausted to me.
He was shaking, delirious, and in an obsessive state. He’s showing signs of severe paranoia, anxiety, and obsessive behavior. I think the best thing to do is to bring in a competent psychiatrist immediately to evaluate him.” And he’s going to add something that, my friends, just chilled me to the bone. He’s going to say, and I quote, ” It’s like there are two people.
One, deep down, we’re trying to hold on to what he was—can he still be? Michael just doesn’t want us to give up—and the other person is weakened and agitated. His memories of what happened right before he passed out during a rehearsal for the HBO concert when he had to cancel everything.
I saw Michael in that state, and the last time he collapsed.” And you want to know Randy’s absolutely absurd and irresponsible response? This email is precisely the point. It’s crucial that neither you, nor I, nor anyone else involved with the show behaves like a psychiatrist or an amateur doctor. Dr. Mery inspires increasing respect in me with each conversation.
This doctor has a thriving practice. We’ve checked, and he’s completely impartial and ethical. Especially considering we saw together that this so- called ethical doctor had a practice that was falling apart. So , we’re dealing with a complete lie here. At the same time, Randy is going to send some messages to his colleagues at AEG, talking about Kenny and saying, and I quote, “This guy is really starting to worry me.
” So, as you can see, folks, things are really reaching a breaking point with Michael, and AEG is trying to cover it up . We’re now five days away from Michael’s death, and there’s going to be a meeting at Michael’s house. So, on one side, we’ll see Randy Philips and Team Lewiiki, who work for AEG. On the other side, we’ll see Kenny Ortega, the production manager, who They’re worried about Michael, Dr.
Conrade, and of course, Michael himself. So, as you understand, the goal is to discuss this increasingly critical situation. And during the meeting, according to the police reports, Kenny Ortega will try to speak directly to Michael because he knows very well that if he talks to the AEG representative or the doctor, they’ll tell him everything is fine and that it’s not in their interest for Michael to stop.
During the discussion between Kenny and Michael, Dr. Mey will interrupt them, telling him violently, “You’re not a doctor, get out of here.” And frankly, that’s not very surprising given Dr. Conrade’s criminal record. So, in fact, the only sincere person trying to stop the machine—Michael—has just been silenced by a doctor who is supposed to be impartial and ethical.
And Dr. Conrade himself will later testify, saying, and I quote, “Michael came towards me trembling, trying to keep me away from the person in charge.” ” of AEG.” I realized at that moment that Michael was helpless. I should have packed my things and left. Well, it’s easy to say that after the dramatic events that have transpired.
This behavior, unfortunately, he should have adopted much sooner . And as you know, he did n’t because if he stops working , he loses all his income. But what exactly has Dr. Conrade been doing lately to keep things running ? Well, for several weeks, he administered a lot of medication to Michael, including propopol to help him sleep every night.
Propol isn’t just a sleeping pill; it’s a surgical anesthetic, normally used to put patients to sleep before operations. So, once again, we have a huge red flag here. On top of that, he administered it in a hotel room, so without supervision, without any medical equipment to monitor the situation. And besides, more Later, Dr.
Conrade will be tried for this serious medical error. ” We don’t use it for rest, for sleep.” And it was this crazy statement, this medication Michael was taking, that started causing side effects, such as parts of his body becoming extremely cold, even freezing, which gave him quite a few chills. He also had heart palpitations.
And now we arrive at the morning of June 25, 2009. And I’m warning you, friends, the next five minutes of this video are probably going to be the hardest to listen to. So the night before , as usual, the doctor administered several sedatives to Michael . Except this time, nothing worked.
Michael couldn’t fall asleep; he was stressed, anxious, and he needed something else. So, as a last resort, at 10:50 a.m., the doctor administered propol, 25 mg to be precise. And finally, Michael fell asleep. Except that he didn’t know it would be an eternal sleep. According to testimonies, the doctor left the room briefly, and when he returned, Michael wasn’t breathing.
Again , a major medical error: Conrad did n’t call 911 directly, the emergency services. He decided to call his assistant first, and then security. It was only 30 minutes later, after finding Michael unconscious, that they finally called emergency services. I’ll play you the public audio recording of them calling emergency services.
It was quite terrible. They were very stressed. ” He’s not breeding and we need to… we’re trying to pump him, but he’s not…” And it was only a short time later, at 2:26 PM, that Michael Jackson was sadly announced dead, five days after that infamous meeting where Kenny Ortega had alerted everyone but had been silenced.
So, for three years, these emails remained confidential. They were only accessible to lawyers and were sealed. They only circulate during the legal proceedings. Until September 2, 2012, when the Los Angeles Times published an article based on 250 pages of his email correspondence. And then, there was an immediate shock because, as I showed you in this video, people discovered that Ag knew from the beginning.
He knew Michael was in an alarming state. He knew Conral was administering dangerous substances to him. He also knew that members of the team were asking them to stop, but they continued anyway. The person who provided all these emails was Howard Man, who was working with Catherine Jackson, Michael’s mother, on a book.
AOG initially accused the Jackson family of leaking the emails. Oman, for his part, fully admitted that he was the one who did it . And in fact, these emails became central pieces of evidence in two subsequent legal cases . The first involved Catherine Jackson and the children of Michael will accuse Euger. The trial will last five months, there will be dozens of witnesses, and the family’s demand will be very simple: one billion dollars in damages and interest.
There will be many testimonies. For example, Kenny Ortega, the production manager, Karine Faille, the makeup artist and hairstylist, and other members of the production team. Obviously, you can already guess the Jackson family’s argument. AEG put its profits before Michael Jackson’s health .
Except that, on the defense side, AEG argues that Michael is a responsible adult with a long history of self-destructive behavior. So, for them, they are not responsible. There will be some truly incredible sequences where AEG executives will be filmed answering the lawyers’ questions, and the emails will be quoted to them. They will be asked what they meant when they said that, and you’ll see that they will simply say that they didn’t understand, that they don’t remember certain emails . Okay, now.
Underneath that it says, ” Paul G. Is that how you normally sign off on emails?” Tell them yes. “So you have no recollection of sending this email?” No. No. And the worst part, folks, is that it’s going to happen. The verdict will leave everyone empty-handed. The jury will conclude that AEG did hire Dr. Conrad Murray and that this doctor was indeed competent at the time of hiring.
Therefore , AEG is not responsible for Michael’s death, and the Jackson family will walk away with nothing. As for Conrad, what happened to him? Well, he was convicted . Initially, he received a four-year sentence, but ultimately he only served two years for good behavior. And the worst part, folks, is that the terrible emails won’t end there because after Michael’s death, the infamous Randy Phillips will write this: ” Michael’s death is a terrible tragedy, but life goes on.
AEG will make a fortune with its non-refundable tickets, merchandise, and traveling exhibition.” And the film. And they weren’t wrong about the numbers. The documentary, which chronicles the rehearsals for the tour of a terrible man, exhausted and on the verge of death, earned EG $250 million. They also collected their $17 million insurance payout from Lloyd’s, you know, the insurance bank.
And meanwhile, the Jackson family got nothing. They struggled for years in court, and above all, they lost a major member of their family. We’re thinking especially of the children and, above all, the parents. And of course, we lost the greatest pop artist in the world. And that’s where you understand, my friends, that Michael wasn’t really killed by incompetence or indifference.
In fact, he was killed by an entire system that valued money more than his own life. So, one thing EG couldn’t take away from Michael was, of course, his final message, because ultimately his Rehearsals, it’s kind of his farewell letter to his fans. So, I’ll let you tell me in the comments, friends, what you thought of this whole affair.
In the meantime, if you want to continue with Michael’s stories, I made this video about Michael’s worst enemies . I hope you enjoyed it . Don’t forget to leave a like, subscribe, and follow me on Instagram, it’s music. And I’ll see you next time for a new video.
