Did Michael Jackson’s ghost have his chance to speak Friday in a Los Angeles Superior Court presided over by Judge Yvette Palazuelos? Maybe. Kinda.
Friday was the eighth and final day of testimony by AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips in the wrongful death civil suit filed against his company by the King of Pop’s mother Katherine Jackson . Her attorneys contend that AEG Live was negligent when it hired Dr. Conrad Murray , the cardiologist found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson’s sudden death at age 50.
Phillips’ testimony has been rambling, inconsistent, and at times incoherent . Katherine Jackson’s lead attorney Brian Panish was openly disgusted with the defendant:
“[T]he CEO of AEG Live is not credible or worthy of any belief, he told numerous stories…The truth fears no trial and Mr. Phillips had a hard time with the truth. He testified under oath five months ago that he didn’t recall anything, yet after meeting 60 hours with his lawyers, he had a miraculous recovery of his memory.”
And some of those memories are downright bizarre, according to a couple of tabloids who are picking through the mess for giggles.
The New York Daily News reported that Randy Phillips gave testimony about a seance performed by Lionel Richie’s ex-wife Brenda to find out the truth of what really happened directly from Michael Jackson’s ghost:
“Brenda called me to tell me that she was in communications with Michael, either through a medium or directly…She said Michael told her it wasn’t Dr. Murray’s fault — that he had accidentally killed himself.”
The Sun noted that Yvette Palazuelos let the testimony stand instead of striking it for the record, even though observers in the courtroom burst into laughter. Sun reporter Pete Samson wrote :
“A Jackson family lawyer objected, calling it triple hearsay as Phillips was relaying a conversation with Brenda, who had spoken to a medium who allegedly contacted the late singer.”
Hmm. Maybe the judge let it stand because it gave evidence of the working (or not working) thought processes of the head honchos at CEO Live?
Despite the tabloid outrage, I somehow doubt Palazuelos left Phillips’ rambling statements on the record because she puts any validity into the existence of Michael Jackson’s ghost.
[Michael Jackson memorial photo by Jorg Hackemann via Shutterstock ]