Inside Michael Jackson’s final days – addiction, debts and working himself to death

Michael Jackson was the King of Pop, known for his immense shift of music, his iconic dance routines and his generosity.

Jackson first found fame as part of the Jackson Five, alongside his siblings, but his hunger for fame proved bigger and he soon rose to become one of the best-selling artists of all time.

But behind the scenes, Michael suffered heavily from addiction and an overzealous work ethic, which would prove to be the death of him, as he passed away in 2009 aged just 50.

READ MORE: Grisly Michael Jackson autopsy details – rotting wig, lip tattoos and ‘skeletal’ frame

So, on what would have been Michael’s 65th birthday, Daily Star looks back at his last days and how his lifestyle led to his downfall.

Addiction

Michael was a hard worker, but this would come back to haunt the Bad musician, as he suffered from chronic pain and had trouble sleeping.

Having reportedly been on prescription medication for years, his dependence on pills first hit the headlines in 2005.

During the trial where he was accused of child molestation, it was revealed that he would regularly take 30 to 40 pills of Xanax every evening.

To help him sleep, he hired a string of different doctors to prescribe him Propofol, a strong sedative. Michael would affectionately call it his “milk”, due to its thick, white consistency.

Despite his reliance on the drugs to make it through, close friend Deepak Chopra called Michael “a very controlled addict”.

But his upcoming This Is It tour seemed to worsen his addiction, as he would consistently ask to be put to sleep with the Propofol every night by his doctor, Conrad Murray.

Murray initially refused to give Jackson his dose of Propofol on the night of June 24th, 2009, according to a police report.

But the doctor eventually relented and administered the dose the following morning. However, the dose would not last long, as just ten minutes after giving him his “milk”, Jackson passed away.

After a lengthy trial, Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison. He was released two years early on parole in 2013.

Deathly work ethnic

Michael Jackson’s death came just weeks before he was set to embark on a world tour called This Is It.

The show was set to start at London’s O2 Arena on July 13th, but it was never meant to be, as he passed away on June 25th.

But after the 50-date tour was announced, eyebrows had been raised.

The Black or White singer had initially only announced 31 gigs in 2009, but after intense demand, where 1.6 million fans showed interest in tickets, it was upped to 50.

Concerns had been raised for the singer’s health when the tour was announced, with Jackson’s make-up artist, Karen Faye admitting: “He can’t do this”.

His entourage were also worried for his health, fearing that he would not give himself enough time between shows to recover.

But despite the concerns, Michael was determined to give “the greatest performance on earth”, flinging himself into rehearsals. However, he quickly became fatigued as the shows approached.

As the first show came closer, Faye admitted that Michael’s team had to make him go on stage, going so far as to coax him out of the bathroom he had locked himself in.

Crippling debts

Jackson’s much-anticipated world tour also served as an opportunity to pay some long-standing debts the Bad singer had racked up.

The Motown miracle had reportedly gone broke due to his well-known shopping addiction.

It was estimated that at the time of his death, Jackson was in debt to the tune of $400-$500mn.

His Neverland Ranch served as the biggest hole for his income, with money being drained for the zoo, staff and in-house train service he had built.

But Michael’s biggest downfall in finances was his idea to borrow money.

After his death, an inquest found that he had several loans with skyrocketing interest ranging from 7% to nearly 17%.

Close friend to the music superstar and personal trainer Lou Ferrigno, speculated that his crippling debts were to blame for his demise.

Speaking to The Telegraph, he said: “He was under tremendous stress, so much I think it killed him. The debts put a huge strain on him.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk