Director says Jackson's condition frightened him

           
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.                

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 also says there was no way it could have known the doctor was giving Jackson propofol as a sleep aid.  

Court proceedings were briefly recessed when Ortega broke down while reading an email he sent to the CEO of AEG Live hours after the rehearsal in which he described Jackson as a "lost boy."                       

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.                           

Ortega also recalled that Phillips didn't speak up during the meeting, which he left after about 15 minutes.                       

The director said on cross-examination that he believed Phillips and another top executive, Paul Gongaware, cared for Jackson. "I felt they loved him," Ortega said, adding that he doesn't think that sentiment has changed since they were sued.                           

Ortega also said Jackson appeared to be under the influence of a substance on at least four occasions when he did attend rehearsals. Jackson's state was "fairly obvious" to others involved in the production, he said.                       

He told jurors that he sent the email describing Jackson's poor condition to suggest the singer needed professional help. He also said that based on Jackson's condition, he didn't believe the "This Is It" shows could go forward.                      

The director said he repeatedly called Murray that night, and his only concern was for Jackson's health.                         

Ortega was the highest-ranking tour worker to testify at the trial and had the most direct contact with AEG executives and Jackson.                         

Ortega said it was the only concert he had ever worked on where he had to coordinate a rehearsal schedule with a performer's doctor and concert promoter.


AP