The ongoing court battle in the Michael Jackson trial took another turn after juror members were shown emails from some of AEG Live's top executives expressing concern over Michael Jackson's health during his "This Is It" tour, the Boston Herald reports.
The promotional company was not only worried about how Jackson was handling the pressure of the tour but was also worried about the amount of time they had to get Jackson ready for the tour.
According to the Boston Herald, in one of the emails sent by Paul Gongaware, AEG Live's co-CEO, to one of his bosses he said the show was giving Jackson "nightmares and causing him to break out in cold sweats at night."
During his testimony Gongaware said he was joking. The email is only one of several emails sent throughout the company expressing concern. In another email Randy Philips, the CEO of AEG Live, said "we are running out of time" after Jackson missed a rehearsal.
The New York Daily News reports that Jackson had also sent emails expressing concern. Jackson was worried about the pyrotechnics being used in the show and one week before his death, Jackson wrote in an email "you aren't going to kill the artist, are you?"
The email was supposedly sent on June 19, 2099 the same day John Houghdahl expressed to Phillips that the King of Pop was acting strange during the rehearsal. Houghdahl also said in court that Kenny Ortega, the show director, observed Jackson acting like "a basket case."
"Kenny said (Jackson) was shaking and couldn't hold his knife and fork. Kenny had to cut his food for him before he could eat, and them had to use his fingers," Houghdahl wrote in the email. "I don't know how much embellishment there is to this, but (Kenny) said repeatedly that MJ was in no shape to go on stage."
Katherine Jackson's lawyer, Brian Panish, used the emails in court to grill AEG executives in the negligence lawsuit against the company.
Katherine Jackson is suing the promotional company for damages estimated to be more than $1 billion. She claims AEG negligently hired and failed to properly supervise Dr. Conrad Murray, the doctor accused of overdosing Jackson.
AEG denies the allegations stating that Michael Jackson hired the doctor himself. They also claim Jackson was not afraid of the pyrotechnics and wanted them in the show.
