Michael Jackson’s ex-wife broke into tears on Wednesday when she took the witness stand in a civil case and described the singer’s fear of pain and reliance on physicians.
Debbie Rowe said the pop star trusted doctors to prescribe pain medication to him, but they sometimes tried to outdo each other while losing sight of Jackson’s care.
“Michael had a very low pain tolerance and his fear of pain was incredible,” Rowe said. “I think the doctors took advantage of him that way.”
She said she was with Jackson when he received treatments from his longtime dermatologist Dr Arnold Klein and from plastic surgeon Dr. Steven Hoefflin.
They would try to out-do each other, with each one prescribing different drugs while trying to persuade Jackson their recommendations were better to manage his pain, she said.
