Director recalls Jackson being ‘lost’

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Director recalls Jackson being ‘lost’

LOS ANGELES - The director of Michael Jackson’s ill-fated comeback concerts told a jury he was frightened when Jackson was shivering and seemed lost at one of his final rehearsals for the “This Is It’’ shows.

The rehearsal occurred six days before Jackson died in June 2009, Kenny Ortega testified Wednesday.

“I saw a Michael that frightened me,’’ Ortega said, calling Jackson’s appearance “very, very troubling.” Ortega and Jackson had been friends for years.

Jackson’s mother filed a negligence lawsuit against AEG Live LLC, the concert promoter. Katherine Jackson claims the company missed warning signs about her son’s health and failed to properly investigate the doctor later convicted of involuntary manslaughter after giving the singer an overdose of the anesthetic propofol.

AEG denies it hired the doctor, Conrad Murray. The company said there was no way it could have known the doctor was giving Jackson propofol as a sleep aid.

Ortega said he was trying to alert AEG Live officials about Jackson’s condition and trusted them to get the singer appropriate care. Instead, Ortega said he was confronted by Jackson’s doctor, Murray, during a tense meeting the following day. Ortega said Murray assured him and AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips that Jackson was capable of rehearsing. AP
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