New York: An associate producer on Michael Jackson`s `This Is It` concert made a panicked phone call five days before the death of the singer, saying that she feared that the singer was on the verge of death.
Alif Sankey testified on Wednesday that she made the 1:30 a.m. call to tour director Kenny Ortega after Michael appeared painfully thin, cold and disoriented at a costume fitting the evening of June 19, 2009.
She said that Michael had been rambling on to Ortega about how "God was speaking to him, and he didn`t understand why God was speaking to him."
Sankey explained that the incident left Ortega in tears.
While she was driving home from the rehearsal space that night, she pulled over and called Ortega to relay her feelings that Michael was dying, the New York Daily News reported.
She said that she was very upset, and was screaming into the phone at that point, asserting that she said "He needs to be put in the hospital now."
Michael`s mother Katherine, 82, sat in the front row and showed little emotion when footage of the King of Pop dancing with Sankey in the 1987 `Smooth Criminal` video was played for jurors.
Katherine`s lawyer Brian Panish asked Sankey how Ortega reacted when she made the phone call from her car.
She said that Ortega kept listening to her as she kept saying that Michael was dying and he needed to be put in the hospital; she asked him to do something.
Katherine has claimed that AEG Live should be held accountable for negligently hiring and poorly supervising Dr Conrad Murray convicted of providing the surgery-strength anesthetic that killed Michael on June 25, 2009.
Meanwhile, AEG has denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that it was Michael`s choice to hire Murray and undergo risky infusions of propofol to treat his insomnia.
Under cross examination by AEG, Sankey admitted that Michael returned for follow-up rehearsals closer to his death and appeared stronger and more coherent and even performed a rendition of `Thriller` that she called "great."
ANI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.