Jacksons vs AEG - Day 9 - May 10 2013- Summary
Katherine Jackson is not at court.
Karen Faye Testimony
Jackson direct
Faye described how Jackson's health had changed over 27 years. She said that his legs, once muscular, were thin, and his face was skeletal. She said that Jackson was not strong enough for the rigorous concert schedule set by AEG. (KABC)
Michael Bush appeared upset after he finished up a June 2009 fitting inside Jackson’s bathroom at Staples Center, Karen Faye said.
“He said 'Oh my god, Turkle. I could see Michael’s heartbeat through the skin in his chest,'” Faye recounted.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos then asked Faye about Bush's tone of voice at the time.
“It was like, 'Oh my god,'” Faye said. “He was pretty much in shock.”
Around the same time, Faye said she tried to warn Jackson’s manager, Frank DiLeo, about Jackson’s health.
“[Frank] was saying pretty much, 'I got it under control, don’t worry about it,'” Faye said.
“I said, ‘But he’s losing weight rapidly.’ … I said, ‘Why don’t you ask Michael Bush to verify taking in his pants and how much weight he’s actually losing?’”
Faye said DiLeo went to speak to Bush and she overheard the manager say, “Get him a bucket of chicken.”
“It was such a cold response,” Faye said. “I mean, it broke my heart.” (LATimes)
It was Kenny Ortega who came to her, hugged her and told her MJ had died. She said she became weak in the knees (ABC7).
Faye said she prepared MJ's body for the family to see him after he died. (ABC7)
She was asked to work on the "This is It" film touching up MJ in the footage. She refused. She thought that would be a lie and couldn't(ABC7)
Faye felt the MJ “did not have enough muscle mass to do a concert” as he was prepping for his “This Is It” comeback tour.She said Jackson realized he didn't look good in a video that was filmed to be used on giant screens during the concert series. At his request, she said, she assisted technicians retouching the singer’s image on the footage.(LAtimes)
But Karen Faye said that although she was asked, she did not help retouch the posthumous “This Is It” documentary.“Everybody was lying after he died, sir, that Michael was well,” Faye said to the Jacksons’ attorney, Brian Panish. “And everybody knew he wasn’t. I felt retouching Michael was just a part of that lie.” (LATimes)
AEG cross
Karen Faye said under cross- examination by defense attorney Marvin Putnam that Jackson went into a rehab program in England that was recommended by Elizabeth Taylor.
“I said I was afraid Michael could die,” Faye said in recalling different stages of the “Dangerous” tour. “Personally, there were times when he was OK and times when I was worried.”(CNS)
Under Cross Examination Faye said she was released not fired from the HIStory Tour after the first leg.(ABC7)
She said Debbie Rowe who was then MJ's wife had a role in her being removed from the tour. Debbie was pregnant and very in love with MJ. Faye said Rowe was jealous of their closeness. (ABC7)
Faye said she parted ways with Jackson during the HIStory World Tour due to problems with the tour manager as well as with Debbie Rowe, Jackson’s wife at the time.
“[Debbie] told me that she was jealous of me being there as Michael’s makeup artist,” Faye said. “She thought that Michael liked me better than her.”
After a few years, Faye said she returned to working with Jackson and that Rowe apologized.(LATimes)
When Faye went back to work for MJ after the HIStory tour he made Debbie apologize to Faye for having a role in getting her fired. (ABC7)
Faye did the makeup when MJ made the announcement that he was going to rehab. She said she put false eyelashes on him for the video.(ABC7).
Faye said she had two prescriptions in her name for MJ - Propecia (grow hair) and Latisse (grow eyelashes) for the This is It tour. She also consulted with a doctor about Botox for MJ for sweating. He wore a hairpiece and she was concerned with sweat. (ABC7) Faye said she did request prescriptions in her name for Latisse, which is used to lengthen eyelashes, and the hair-growth drug Propecia so that she could give them to Jackson. She also inquired about Botox as a way to remedy Jackson’s onstage sweat that often caused problems with his hair extensions, but said she ultimately did not get that drug. (LAtimes)
Faye said she expressed her drug abuse concerns about Jackson’s health with his oldest sister, Rebbie Jackson, after the woman reached out to her requesting information about the singer. Faye said she could not recall the time period when the conversation occurred.
She said she also had more abbreviated discussions about the same topic with another two of the singer’s other siblings, LaToya Jackson and Randy Jackson.
Faye said that in later years Jackson’s family members unsuccessfully tried to get him to return to rehab.
“I never knew them to be successful, sir,” Faye told Putnam. “I’m sure they were trying to help him in any way they could.”(CNS)
Faye could not remember when she discussed her fear of MJ's drug use with his sister Rebbie. Rebbie approached her for information(ABC7) She testified that she believed the family was not successful getting MJ into a rehab facility despite trying.(ABC7)
Faye said she sometimes spoke about Jackson’s addiction with his siblings, Rebbie, Randy and LaToya. It was her understanding, she said, that the family had attempted additional interventions with Jackson that were unsuccessful. (LAtimes)
During cross-examination by an AEG attorney, Faye clarified and said she had been torn about working on the documentary. “My initial feeling was that I didn’t want to lie, and the second, my other thing that was tugging at my heart, was that if this movie was going out, I wanted him to look good.” (LATimes)
Faye recounted multiple incidents that she says alarmed her about Jackson's use of painkillers from the time he was burned during the filming of a Pepsi commercial, to the stress of his criminal trial on molestation charges, to the day at rehearsal before he died.Yet under cross-examination, Faye said she never had a single conversation with Jackson about his drug use, and that there was a period of time after Jackson went through rehab in 1993 that he seemed to be fine. (KABC)
Karen Faye said she never saw Jackson use drugs and that there was only one instance when the singer asked her if she had painkillers.(LAtimes)
Karen Faye testified she never broached the subject of his addiction with him. Karen Faye said that during Jackson’s 2005 trial she would spend a lot of time with the performer, arriving at 3 a.m. to help him get ready, and felt it was not appropriate to confront him about his misuse of prescription drugs. (LATimes)
Faye said she did not discuss Jackson’s drug problem with him personally.
“I just avoided that issue like the plague, sir, the molestation and the drug areas,” she told Putnam today.
Asked by Putnam if Jackson ever sought drugs from her, Faye replied affirmatively.
“He asked me one time if I had pain killers,” Faye said. “I said no, I didn’t.” (CNS)
“I was a place of safety for him, and peace,” Faye said. “And I didn’t want to bring up the allegations in my time with him. I wanted that to be a really safe place.” (LAtimes)
Faye said she also became concerned during Jackson’s 2005 trial and acquittal on molestation charges that he was using drugs again, saying she based her assumptions on his appearance and his demeanor. She said she got up early every morning to get Jackson ready for court. She said he was hospitalized for part of the molestation trial because of the back pain that likely dated from the Munich accident. She said she decided again to avoid confronting Jackson about possible drug abuse.(CNS)
“It was my job and my duty as a friend to make that time … calm and peaceful,” Faye said. “I didn’t want to confront him with anything. No matter what he was doing, I could never blame him for that because of the pain.” (CNS)
Faye said it was her duty as Jackson’s longtime friend to keep him calm before he had to go to court.
“And no matter what he was doing, I could never blame him for that because of the pain,” Faye said, referring to the singer’s psychological pain over the charges as well as his physical pain from suffering injuries from a fire and a fall during a performance.(LATimes)
Putnam brought up Faye’s Twitter account and blog and asked her if she had posted unfavorable things about AEG, she stood firm. “I’ve stated the truth as far as my experience,” she said. (LAtimes)
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On Monday, AEG attorneys are expected to call their first witnesses, choreographers Stacy Walker and Travis Payne. Because the two must leave for a show in Tokyo, Judge Yvette Palazuelos has allowed the defense to call them early. Faye will return afterward. (LATimes)