Michael Jackson family lawyer blasts tour promoter as trial opens
Lawyer for King of Pop's mother accuses AEG Live of negligence in wrongful death trial
The lawyer for Michael Jackson's mother has accused the promoter of his doomed final tour of sacrificing the troubled star in a "ruthless" pursuit of profit in the months before his 2009 death.
At the trial on Monday pitting Katherine Jackson against AEG Live, her lawyer Brian Panish alleged the promoter was negligent in hiring doctor Conrad Murray, who was convicted in 2011 of causing Jackson's death.
But Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) lawyer Marvin Putnam argued the mega pop star had hidden the evidence of his addiction and health woes from everyone, including his family and the concert promoters.
He said evidence presented at the trial would show that Jackson had used propofol - the anaesthetic drug which caused his death - since the 1990s to help him sleep, and had been repeatedly warned that it could kill him.
"Mr Jackson got very, very good at hiding his addiction," said Putnam, adding that "even his family and friends didn't know" about his propofol abuse.
Jackson's 82-year-old mother sat impassively in the front row, flanked by his siblings Randy and Rebbie, as details of the self-styled King of Pop's long-term drug and alcohol abuse were listed in the court.