AEG-Jacksons trial DAY 24. Randy Phillips SLAPPED Michael Jackson

Randy Phillips, top man and President of AEG Live SLAPPED Michael Jackson and almost no one in the media wrote about it.

This AEG boss slapped Michael and is now explaining it by the need to go a press-conference. His earlier version was that Michael was “drunk”, however when questioned under oath he says that it was an “exaggeration”.

Michael was sober and that press-conference was not even needed as with half a million people already in the queue it did not really matter – they could release a public statement instead.

Randy Phillips slapped Michael because he wanted that press-conference and was forcing him to go there. From the very start of it he was showing his ‘partner’ who was the boss there and who was to obey.

This is how their cooperation started, and this is how it ended too – by them grinding him down to his death. And all Michael saw from his ‘partners’ from the start to finish of this ‘cooperation’ was humiliation, bullying, insults and contempt.

The physical insult of the slap was followed by a further insult of adding 40 more shows to which Michael never agreed. No person in his right mind will now believe that Michael was even asked for a permission to increase the number of shows – who asks for a permission of a person whom you’ve just slapped? Even if AEG asked it was a mere formality which did not matter. 

I think I even know why Michael didn’t want to show himself to the public at that early a stage. Besides the big worry that people wouldn’t welcome his comeback he wasn’t confident of his looks.  Dr. Klein said he was doing some cosmetic procedures which were far from finished at that time, so too much make-up had to be applied to Michael’s face and this is why he looked slightly different from the way we saw him in This Is It.

So he even had a solid reason to refuse. And vulnerable as he was after so many years of seclusion he was afraid to show himself to the public fearful of the reception he would get.  But none of it mattered to Randy Phillips. This methodical guy cared only for his own plans and this is why he slapped Michael and then made him attend every rehearsal though both were a terrible violation of Michael’s rights.

When he is fired from AEG Phillips should look for a job in a prison in some God-forsaken place – his manners are just the right ones for an overseer over the local inmates in case the human rights activists are not watching there.

After more or less getting over the shock of the slap I naturally went to see what the media was saying about this outrage. But over here another shock was awaiting me – a day after the incident became known the media was still not writing about it. They were not even mentioning it let alone giving an assessment of it.

Everything was there – AEG’s old lies about Michael being ‘drunk and despondent, AEG exec saying that it is ‘extortion’, “Murray working for Michael and not AEG”, etc.  –  everything except the shock of the slap Phillips gave to Michael Jackson. There was simply nothing about it, as if it never happened and was never discussed at the trial.

Now I am beginning to understand the inner logic of this theatre of the absurd. The current headlines about the alleged ‘drunk’ state of Michael Jackson are setting the right scenery for the spectators and when the curtain falls and the slap is finally mentioned, everyone will think that Michael was in such a state that he deserved it.

But all this loud story of MJ being “drunk and despondent” is a BIG LIE and this was already proven at the trial.

Phillips shifts all the blame for the lie onto Tohme who was allegedly the one who initially said it, Tohme says (in Sullivan’s book) that it was Randy Phillips’ exaggeration and Gongaware who was also present at the press-conference says that Michael Jackson was sober and was not even smelling of alcohol.

Actually we don’t even need the testimonies of these people as we saw the press-conference ourselves and did not notice any signs of intoxication.

When confronted with his own deposition Randy Phillips explains that Michael was NOT drunk and was NOT despondent:

Q. Was Mr. Jackson drunk? 

A. No. Not to the best of my knowledge, no.

Q. Ok. Was he despondent? 

A. No. 

Q. Now, sir, you testified there that Mr. Jackson was not drunk and he was not despondent, correct?

A. There? Yes.

Tohme and his lawyer Dennis Hawk call Phillips’ words an ‘exaggeration’:

A excerpt from the testimony of Paul Gongaware who was also present at the press-conference

“MJ is locked up in his room drunk and despondent,” Phillips wrote in an e-mail to his boss Tim Leiweke.

“ Are you kidding me?” was the reply Leiweke sent back minutes later. Just the day before, AEG’s corporate chief had attended a music-industry symposium where he answered a question about Michael Jackson’s readiness for a concert series by saying, “ The man is very sane, the man is very focused, the man is very healthy.” “ I [am] trying to sober him up,” a frantic Phillips wrote to Leiweke, as the appointed time of the O2 press conference approached. “ I screamed at him so loud the walls are shaking. He is an emotionally paralyzed mess riddled with self loathing and doubt now that it is show time.”

He and Tohme actually had to dress Michael to get him prepared for the press conference, Phillips wrote to Leiweke: “ He is scared to death.”

More than three years later, Tohme would say that Phillips’s e-mails “exaggerated” Michael’s condition. Dennis Hawk agreed. “He might have drunk a couple of glasses of wine to relax,” Hawk said. “I wouldn’t have blamed him if he drank a whole bottle, given how big the moment was for him.” [R.Sullivan]

And Paul Gongaware who was an eye-witness to the press-conference said that Michael gave him a hug and did not even smell of alcohol:

Q  Did Randy ever tell you that Michael was drunk and despondent before that press conference?
A   No, not drunk and despondent.
Q  Did he say something else?
A  He just said he was having a hard time getting — getting him going.
Q  And did he explain that further?
A  No.
Q  Did you have an understanding of what he meant?
A  I — no. I was just too busy at the press conference.

Q. Describe a little bit the scene. Was there any press?

A. Not in the area backstage. He walked into that area and he saw me and he came up to me and he gave me a big hug. And he whispered in my ear, he said, “make sure the teleprompter has big words. I don’t have my glasses.”

Q. OK. Were there Teleprompters to assist him?

A. Yes.

Q. All right. And what big words for what? What did he need words for?

A. On the Teleprompters.

Q. OK. How did he seem to you?

A. He was good.

Q. Did you say anything back?

A. I said OK.

Q. OK. Who did he arrive with?

A. He came with Dr. Tohme, Randy, some security. I don’t remember who else was with him.

Q. So after he gave you that hug and told you he’d forgot his glasses, what happened next?

A. Then I said, “are you ready?” he went, “yeah, let’s go.” and then we had like an emcee, I guess you’d call it, that went up and sort of announced  you know, made the announcement, “here’s Michael Jackson.”

Q. Now, when he came in and hugged you and spoke to you, did he seem inebriated in any way to you?

A. No.

Q. Did he seem drunk?

A. No.

Q. Did he smell of alcohol?

A. No.

Q. Did he seem altered in any way?

A. No.

An excerpt from Randy Phillips’s deposition

So Michael was absolutely not in a condition in which Phillips initially described him and therefore he did not have even a pretext for slapping Michael Jackson to bring a ‘drunken’ person to his senses.

Michael was SOBER and let us remember it once and for all.

But Phillips nevertheless did hit him. We learned about this abominable deed from the trial transcript posted on TMJ and if it were not for the transcript we wouldn’t even know of the slap incident as even the ABC 7 Court News somehow managed to omit this crucial fact.

The transcript says that the truth was revealed by an email Randy Phillips wrote to the transportation people waiting downstairs to take them to the press-conference. He said, “I just slapped him” and when pressed for an answer at the trial engaged himself and the Jacksons’ attorney in a long and enduring dispute.

Panish asked him about him hitting Michael as if in passing:

Q. Then by the way, did you hit Mr. Jackson ?

A. No.

Q. Ok. Well, let’s see what you said at the top of that page at 712/17. Why don’t you read what you said, sir?

A. This is in response to getting the transportation set up. I said:  “you guys are going to follow us behind a 12-passenger bus back there. I just slapped him and screamed at him louder than I did with Arthur Cassell.”

Q. Who is Arthur Cassell?

A. Arthur Cassell is one of the most annoying human beings on the face of the earth [….]

Q. But this time you screamed louder at Mr. Jackson, didn’t you?

A. Well, that’s what I wrote, but that’s not what I did.

Q. And you slapped Mr. Jackson, didn’t you?

A. You ever see a coach with a football team getting ready to leave; ok? And I created..

Q. Sir, could you please answer my question? Did you write you just slapped Mr. Jackson ?

A. You want a “yes” or “no” that doesn’t tell the story of what actually happened? What do you want? Ok. When we were I know what you want.

Q. Did you write that you just slapped Mr. Jackson ? “yes” or “no”?

A. No.

Q. Ok. You didn’t write “I just slapped him”?

A. Yeah, I wrote that.

Q. Ok. But that’s an exaggeration again; right?

A. No. I slapped him.

Q. But you slapped him, oh, like a nice slap, like, oh, come on, let’s go, and then you screamed. Louder than you did at Arthur Cassell; is that correct?

A. Here’s what I did; ok? This was a very tense situation. And, you know, frankly, I created the tension in that room; ok?

Q. Sir, I …

A. Because I was so nerve-racked, ok, the time slipping away, and his career slipping away; ok?

Q. When you wrote “I just slapped him,” was that an exaggeration?

A. Nah. I slapped him on the butt.

Q. Ok. And when you screamed louder than you did at Arthur Cassell, and that time the windows shook in your office, was that another exaggeration?

A. At the time it was an exaggeration, yes.

Q. So that’s another exaggeration?

A. It was an exaggeration.

He slapped him and now says that it was on the butt. However slapping a 50 year old man on the butt is also an insult, only not as spectacular and open as a slap in the face.

And it wasn’t on the butt – Randy Phillips is lying again. If it was some ‘nice’ and friendly slap as Randy Phillips says it was, he would not have written in his email:

• “I just slapped him and screamed at him louder than I did with Arthur Cassell.”

No, guys,  unfortunately it was a slap in the face as a ‘friendly slap on the butt’ is not accompanied by that kind of screaming.

And judging by the force of his yelling I am also afraid that it was not a mere touch.

What’s also horrible about it is that Randy Phillips boasted of his feat to his surrounding.

Not only did he insult the 50-year-old man whose dignity, genius, fame and ‘selling capacity’ were to be respected and even awed at, but he wanted the employees of his company to know of the insult and humiliation he subjected Michael to. I wonder what looks they gave Michael when he was getting into their bus and how he felt at that moment and forever after.

The tears of humiliation are the hardest to swallow.

Well, once Shawn Trell opened the hunting season for Michael by calling him a “freak” just prior to signing their contract, it was inevitable for this style to be upheld by everyone else at AEG.  This must have been the prevailing AEG approach towards Jackson throughout their ‘cooperation’ and this must have been the atmosphere in which all those rehearsals, negotiations, discussions were taking place. It simply could not be any different – when bosses give a nod to some outrage those under them lose their ability to behave decently and acquire the same  style too. Human nature, you know.

However conscience is a dangerous thing to discard and some day their meanness and lack of humanity will backfire at them, and all of it because they threw away their conscience as some unnecessary trash at the time when it was needed most.

I wonder how those in the media feel now that they are forced to come to terms with their conscience too. Their natural instinct tells them that they should report the absolutely abominable news that the top AEG guy slapped Michael Jackson, and give to it a proper assessment but they have to keep silent or justify Phillips’ actions by Michael being ‘drunk’ (which he was not).

I refuse to believe that none of them are appalled by the news. At least some of them should have some shreds of conscience left and it should be urging them to write about it as their duty calls on them to.

Poor journalists. They have to stifle their indignation and keep their mouth shut because they have to obey the instructions of their editors. They need to keep their jobs and feed their families, and bargaining with their conscience is the price they have to pay for betraying the truth.

Poor editors. They have to listen to the media owners setting to them the limits within which reporting about Michael Jackson is allowed. A ‘freak’ can be widely reported because it will only enhance the Jackson image portrayed by them earlier, but telling the whole truth about that abominable scene is out of the question. This unpleasant truth may undermine the whole building they have been constructing around Michael Jackson for too long – that  ‘he is the only one to blame for his troubles,’ and therefore any inside information about him being humiliated, bullied and harassed by someone like AEG is almost impossible to report.

However for some journalists freedom is evidently dearer. Richard Johnson of the New York Post, for example, impressed me by telling the truth as soon as it became known at the trial (unfortunately the headline of his article leaves much to be desired):

….To another business associate, Phillips wrote: “I haven’t pulled it off yet. We still have to get his nose on properly. You have no idea what this is like. He is a self-loathing emotionally paralyzed mess… I just slapped him.”

Phillips admitted, “I slapped him on the butt.”

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/concert_announced_says_michael_jackson_ijUw9hdUs0c7ESwTJRGxON

And Charles Thomson went even further. Not only did he tell the truth about Phillips hitting Michael but he even expressed an opinion on the behavior of his colleagues. He called all this media silence utterly incriminating which it sure is:

AEG boss Randy Phillips admitted in court this week that he hit Michael Jackson because he wasn’t ready to go to a press conference. ‘Screamed at him so loud the walls shook’, then hit him.

I can find only one news outlet on Google News which is running this story. Every single other outlet on the planet seems to have left it out of their coverage. Utterly incriminating.

https://www.facebook.com/CharlesThomsonJournalist/posts/10151637411331998

While  I was writing this post the first news of the slap finally appeared in some media outlets. All of them come under one headline as if copied from one source, which is evidently the article by Alan Duke ” I slapped despondent Michael Jackson”.

Out of the now infamous exaggeration Duke uses only that ‘despondent’ thing  and gives a rather detailed account of Phillips’ testimony, however he does not focus on the crucial fact of Phillips’ admittance that Michael was not drunk and thus gave absolutely no grounds for being treated that way.

So by now we have three journalists writing about this abominable scene and several more outlets reprinting Alan Duke’s story which is a sign of some improvement at last. All is not lost guys if we have three journalists brave enough to raise their voice in favor of the truth.

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Here are some excerpts from Randy Phillips’ testimony the transcript of which I found on the heroic TeamMichaelJackson site: http://teammichaeljackson.com/archives/8709

While the media is proving itself worthless such independent sources of information are absolutely priceless to us.  I will never cease to ask my readers to help the Team to buy the transcripts – we still have a long way to go and the transcripts are a costly pleasure, so they are in constant need of new funds:  http://teammichaeljackson.com/archives/8530

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Randy Phillips’ testimony on June 5 is a complete revelation from the very start of it. For example, we learn that he ‘never read’ their contract with Michael Jackson and familiarized himself only with its summary prepared by Kathy Jorrie. This lie is intended to absolve Phillips of the atrocities their contract was filled with:

Q. Before Michael Jackson died, you never reviewed his contract with AEG correct?

A. Before Michael Jackson died? I did review the contract when I signed it before I signed it.

Q. Ok. So let’s play your deposition, sir.

Q. Ok. Now, your deposition was taken on January 17th, 2013; correct?

A. Correct.

Q. And then you signed under penalty of perjury on February 28th; correct?

A. Correct.

Q. So about six weeks later; right?

A. Correct.

Mr. Panish: ok. Let’s play the deposition.

(a video clip was played with the following testimony being said:) 

Q. Did you read the Jackson / AEG live contract in January of 2009? 

A. No.

Q. Never read that one? 

A. No. I read a summary of it, but I didn’t read the whole contract.” 

Q. Who prepared the summary you reviewed; sir?

A. Would have been Kathy Jorrie.

Q. Ok. When was that comprised for you, sir?

A. Prior to execution.

Q. Ok. So she where is the summary?

A. Where is the summary?

Q. Yeah.

A. Probably in my files. I don’t know.

The next passage confirms to us what we already know – AEG were dying to go into a deal with Michael Jackson but he was inaccessible to them, and the person who brought him to AEG was Tom Barrack. As you remember Tom Barrack set a deal between Michael Jackson and AEG as a condition for buying out the foreclosure note on Neverland. From the tone of AEG emails we understand that working with the man whom they called a “freak” behind his back was AEG’s most coveted desire:

Q. I’m handing you exhibit 8111, an e-mail chain. The top e-mail, June 22nd, 2009 see that before, sir?

A. Would you let me read it, please?

Q. Sure.

Q. Ok. Can you read for us first of all, you agree that Mr. Anschutz is a close friend of Tom Barrack; right?

A. Yeah. You asked me that already. I don’t know about friends, they were business associates.

Q. Ok. Why don’t you read what you wrote, sir?

A. Ok. In response to a request for tickets to one of Michael Jackson ‘s shows just trying not to take it out of context. I want to give it context.

Q. Sir, could you please…

A. “it would probably be tacky to not comp him since he is the real reason we have MJ tell him we have comp’d seats and offer him a suite at some hard cost charge. Phil a will be there, and they are close friends.”

Q. Ok. You’re referring to Mr. Barrack, aren’t you, sir?

A. Yes, I am.

Q. Ok. And you said,” Mr. Barrack is the real reason we have MJ” did you say that, sir?

A. Yeah, I did. In context.

Q. And did you say him and Phil are close friends?

A. I did.

Q. And is “Phil a” Mr. Anschutz?

A. Yes.

The talk about making films and the agreement Michael Jackson signed with AEG about film-making are a very important subject heavily underestimated by us up till now. In his testimony Shawn Trell said that AEG was to provide Michael with opportunities for making three films but the project was dropped as “no one was interested” though they allegedly were making enquiries about it here and there.

However Randy Phillips says that if a 3D Thriller film had been made it would have been a big commercial success. The fact that AEG did not properly fulfill their duties under that agreement shows that all that talk about film-making was just a trap to lure Michael into the AEG deal, and once he was in it they simply dropped the film subject as an unnecessary one:

Q. Ok. Now, you knew that Michael Jackson was interested in making films; correct?

A. That is correct.

Q. And part of the negotiations for the tour agreement was including a film development agreement?

A. Yes.

Q. I want to show you exhibit – defense exhibit 12,246. It’s a development agreement for films. Is there any question in your mind Mr. Jackson didn’t want to make films?

A. Didn’t want to make films?

Q. Right.

A. No. He very much wanted to make films.

Q. Did you think he would be good at it?

A. I think “thriller” 3d would have been a winner. I’m not sure what other products he had in mind.

Q. You thought he was one of the most creative people you ever met; right?

A. In the music business.

Q. And that he “thriller” 3d, you said “a winner.” you mean a smash, a hit?

A. In that terminology, yes.

Q. I mean, in the music business, you kind of say blew it out; right? He’d blow it out?

A. For the jury’s sake, a commercial success, yes.

Q. Ok. And no question in your mind “thriller” 3d would be a commercial success and make money?

A. “thriller” live action 3d, yes.

Then the talk goes over to the subject of Michael being in a rehab in 1993 and Randy Phillips amazes us by saying that he never heard about it. You understood me right – everyone knows about Michael being in a rehab as he himself spoke about it on TV but Randy Phillips missed all of it and is learning about it from Panish only at this trial:

Q. And, sir, did you learn if Mr. Jackson went into substance rehabilitation, and that tour ended early?

A. No.

Q. You never heard that?

A. I don’t remember hearing it.

Q. Ok. And when’s the first time you heard that?

A. Just now.

However almost immediately after that we find out that Michael’s prescription medication use and alleged alcohol consumption were the subject of communication between the trio which was imposing the tour on Michael Jackson. Mr. Nanula from Colony Capital briefed Randy Phillips on media speculations in this respect and Phillips forwarded the email to no other than Tohme Tohme. By the way he called him a “doctor” in this email and drew his attention to ‘a lot of research’ done by a certain journalist. You may be interested to know that the journalist mentioned was Diane Dimond.

From Phillips’ deposition:

 Q. Exhibit 68 seems to be from Mr. Nanula forwarding you an article in the Sunday Independent  From December 7, 2008. Do you see that?

A. I see it. I don’t remember reading it.

Q. Ok. On the page that ends -6562, there’s a statement: ‘Jackson ‘s productivity could very well be suffering due to his alleged relationship with alcohol and prescription medication.’  Do you see that? 

A. Yeah. I see the paragraph.

Q. Ok. Somebody wrote that anyway; right?

A. Obviously. I’m reading it.

Q. Yeah. And you read it back at the time in 2008, didn’t you? 

A. I don’t remember reading this article at all.

Q. Ok. You wouldn’t … 

A. And I wouldn’t have put much credence in anything in the English press.

Q. Ok. When you know who Diane Dimond is, don’t you? 

A. I have no idea who she is.

Q. At least what she had quoted as saying is he’s had problems with alcohol and painkillers for  years. You saw that; right?

A. No.

Q. You see it now?  

A. I see it now. I didn’t see it then.

Q. And you we’ll put it up there this is forwarding the e-mail from Mr. Nanula; correct?

A. That is correct.

Q. Ok. And tell us what you wrote when you forwarded the article from Mr. Nanula that included references to drug and alcohol abuse.

A. I wrote: “doc, have you read these stories? This reporter did a lot of  Research. Rp.” 

From Phillips’ deposition again:

Q. Did you do anything between the time you received this article on December 8, 2008, to the time of Mr. Jackson’s death, to determine whether he had a problem with alcohol or painkillers? 

A. No.

Q. Or any other kind of narcotics or prescription drugs or just prescription drugs. We’ll leave it at that. 

A. No. I was strictly his promoter.

Q. Ok. You never asked Dr. Murray about that? 

A. No.

Now we are finally getting closer to the London press-conference and learn an interesting detail about the events prior to it. It turns out that it was already then that Michael was not on speaking terms with Tohme as he had arranged an auction Michael never allowed. Randy Phillips called the auction “stupid’.

By the way all the damages and losses under the auctioneer’s lawsuit had to be paid by Michael Jackson.

It is over here that the subject of being “drunk and despondent” and yelling at Michael is first raised. Phillips turns each word he wrote in his emails into a huge argument over their semantics. Now he says that yelling was an exaggeration and Randy Phillips just “raised his voice” – which seems to be a kind of a mantra with him as he repeats it to all the questions asked.

The version of a ‘hangover’ from the previous day was worked out by Phillips in the course of 30 hours of consultations with his lawyer and is another of his lies – a hangover from “last night” gives a much bigger smell than the actual drinking, and Gongaware said that MJ was not even smelling of alcohol though Michael actually hugged him and whispered into his ear about not having his glasses on:

Q. Now, sir, there was a press conference for the “This Is It” tour in March of 2009; is that correct?

A. Correct.

Q. And you were there; right?

A. Correct.

Q. And was it March 5th, to your recollection?

A. It was March 5th.

Q. And you and Mr. Jackson were late to that press conference; correct?

A. That is correct.

Q. Was it a miracle that the press conference even happened?

A. Pretty much, yes.

Q. Is that a “yes”?

A. That’s a “yes.”

Q. Were you late because Mr. Jackson was drunk and despondent?

A. By the time I saw him, he had a hangover from drinking. At one point he must have been drunk, yes.

Q. Sir, my question was: were you late because Mr. Jackson was drunk and despondent?

A. Correct.

Q. So that’s a “yes”?

A. That’s a “yes.”

Q. Ok. I’d like to show you exhibit 100 when you’re ready, let me know.

A. Ok.

Q. Ok. Let’s show that. Now, sir, this was one of those e-mails you were shown for preparing for your testimony?

A. Correct.

Q. Is this an e-mail you wrote on March 8th, 2009?

A. Yes.

Q. And is Mr. Morey a former manager of Mr. Jackson?

A. Yes, he was.

Q. Can you tell us the yellowed-out lines that I wrote? Could you read those that I’ve yellowed out? Could you please read those for me, sir, what you wrote to Mr. Morey on March 8, 2009?

A “MJ was not speaking to Dr. Tohme because of the stupid auction set up that MJ never agreed to until the day they left for London on the Gulfstream I chartered.”

Q. “Gulfstream,” is that an airplane?

A. It’s a jet.

Q. Is a jet an airplane?

A. Of course.

Q. So gulfstream is an airplane that you chartered to take people to London?

A. Correct.

Q. Who went on the plane?

A. To the best of my knowledge, it was Michael Jackson, his three children; hair and makeup artist whose name I can’t remember, and Dr. Tohme.

Q. Ok.

A. And Alberto Alvarez, security.

Q. And you didn’t travel with them?

A. No.

Q. Did you travel on your own?

A. Yes.

Q. Did you have your own Gulfstream?

A. No.

Q. You went commercial?

A. Yeah. I’m just a working guy.

Q. Mr. Anschutz didn’t lend you one of his planes to go?

A. No.

Mr. Putnam: objection.

Judge: I’m sorry. Didn’t lend him?

Q. Didn’t lend you one of the planes he uses?

Mr. Putnam: objection. Relevance, your honor.

Judge: sustained.

Q. Ok. So could you read the next line that you wrote, sir?

A. Yes. “the fact that the press conference even happened is a miracle, let alone getting through the unprecedented demands for shows that has caught us off guard.”

Q. Ok. Was that true, sir?

A. Correct.

Q. It was true that the press conference happening was a miracle; correct?

A. Yes.

Q. Now, sir, I’d like to play your deposition, page 59, 19 to 25; 60, line 20, to 62, line 12; and 62/15 to 63/25, regarding this issue. While they’re reviewing that, I want to ask you a couple questions.  Did you yell at Mr. Jackson?

A. Did I yell or did I shout?

Q. Did you yell? Y-e-l-l.

A. I raised my voice.

Q. Did you yell at Mr. Jackson?

A. I raised my voice.

Q. So the answer is you didn’t yell at Mr. Jackson?

A. I think when I wrote that, I was exaggerating.

Q. Sir, do you know what it means to yell at someone?

A. Yes.

Q. Did you yell at Mr. Jackson ? “yes” or “no”?

A. In the two and a half hours that this all took place, ok, it’s very hard if you take it out of Context, the answer is not going to make any sense, anyway.

Q. Sir….

Mr. Panish: your honor, could I ask that he answer the question?

Judge: yes.

Mr. Panish: it’s a very straightforward question.

Judge: just “yes” or “no.”

Q. Did you yell at Mr. Jackson ? “yes” or “no”?

A. I raised my voice.

Q. So the answer is no, you did not yell; correct?

A. Matter of interpretation.

Q. Did you scream at Mr. Jackson?

A. I raised my voice.

Q. So you did not scream at Mr. Jackson ; correct?

A. At the time, I felt like I may have screamed. I just raised my voice.

Q. Sir, did you or did you not scream at Mr. Jackson at this time? “yes” or “no” or “I don’t remember”?

A. I can’t answer the question that way.

Mr. Panish: your honor, I think it’s a pretty straightforward question

Judge: I can’t force him to answer it.

Mr. Panish: it’s “yes,” “no” or “I don’t remember.”

Judge: the answer is what the answer is.

Q. So you can’t answer the question; right?

A. No more than I just did. I raised my voice because it was a very tense situation towards the end of getting him ready to leave, and we were two hours late.

Q. So you will not admit that you yelled at Mr. Jackson or screamed at him; correct, sir?

A. I will admit that I raised my voice, and I got agitated towards the end of this period of time because we were so late for this press conference.

Q. Ok. Let’s play the deposition and see what you said at your deposition about this.

(a video clip was played with the following testimony being said:)

Q. All right. Mr. Phillips, exhibit 6 is a an e-mail that was produced by AEG live in this litigation, first from Mr. Morey to you, and then you responding to Mr. Morey. You see that? 

A. I’m reading it right now.

Q. My question is simply, is this an e-mail you got from Mr. Morey and an e-mail you responded to Mr. Morey? based on the headers, 

A. Yes.

Q. Ok. And it was produced by AEG live. You see the production stamp at the bottom; right?

A. Right. 

Q. There’s some language up at the top that talks about that you you wrote the top of this; correct? 

A. That is correct.

Q. And you wrote: ‘MJ was not speaking to Dr. Tohme because of this stupid auction he set up that MJ never agreed to”.

A.  Correct.

Q. Is that what you were just telling us about, the Julien’s auction?

A. That is correct.

Q. And then there’s language about the day they left for London. Is that the press conference for the ‘this is it’ tour?

A. That is correct..

Q. Then you wrote: ‘the fact that the press conference even happened is a miracle.’ do you see that?

A. I see that..

Q. What did you mean by that? 

A. To the best of my knowledge, at the time, the fact that Dr. Tohme and Michael were not in constant contact with each other, and we were dealing with Dr. Tohme on the logistics of the press conference and that that’s what I meant. I had to rely on Dr. Tohme to bring Michael and Michael for Michael ‘s participation in the press conference, and if they were estranged, I had no one to deal with.

Q. Was there a problem, Mr. Phillips, with Mr. Jackson’s appearance at the press conference that day? 

A. Are you talking about when he went to the microphone and was photographed?

Q. Well, I was thinking, actually, really, hours before going to the microphone and being  photographed. Did something unusual happen? 

A. We were late.

Q. Why? 

A. To the best of my knowledge, based on statements made to me by Dr. Tohme, Michael was scared of the reception he was going to get because he hadn’t been in the public eye in so long and that he might be hung over.

Q. Hung over?That’s what Dr. Tohme told you? 

A. Correct.

Q. But you didn’t see that yourself? 

A. At one point during the afternoon, I went into the room as Michael was getting prepared, and he seemed a bit ‘hung over’ would be I mean, I’m not an expert and I don’t drink, so I’ve never been hung over, so it’s just an observation.

Q. Well, my hunch is, in 30 years in the music industry, you may have seen somebody hung over at some point. No? 

A. Actually, no.

Q. How about drunk people? 

A. Yes.

Q. Ok. Was Mr. Jackson drunk? 

A. No. Not to the best of my knowledge, no.

Q. Ok. Was he despondent? 

A. No. 

Q. Now, sir, you testified there that Mr. Jackson was not drunk and he was not despondent, correct?

A. There? Yes.

Let me break this Randy Phillips’ theatrical performance and note that when the media bombards us now with headlines like “AEG exec says he was drunk and despondent” it is nothing but an intentional lie because at this stage the media is absolutely obliged to know that all AEG bosses said that that story was an exaggeration which in back translation from the AEG language means that it was a LIE.

Randy Phillips continues with his stories and like all others at AEG surprises us by not knowing why his immediate boss Tim Leiweke was fired. For some reason they are not allowed to talk about it and for the same reason our curiosity about it is only growing – no atrocity is bad enough for AEG, so what could Leiweke do to make Anschutz  fire him?

Q. Is that one of the 30 e-mails you reviewed in the over 30 hours of preparation you did with your lawyers?

A. That is correct.

[..] Q. Ok. Let’s look at the bottom. This is March 5th. Is that the day of the press conference?

A. That’s correct.

Q. Ok. Why don’t you read for us by the way, who are you writing this e-mail to?

A. To Tim Leiweke.

Q. And refresh my recollection. Who is Tim Leiweke?

A. Tim Leiweke was the CEO of AEG

Q. And is that one of the people who you directly reported to?

A. Yes.

Q. And would you say that he’s in charge of all the AEG operations here?

A. Correct.

Q. At that time?

A. At that time, yes.

Q. And he’s no longer with the company, and you don’t know why he left, and you never talked to him about it; right?

A. About why he left?

Q. Yeah.

A. No.

Q. You don’t know whether Mr. Anschutz fired him?

Ms. Stebbins: objection. Relevance.

Judge: overruled.

Mr. Phillips: I do not know why he left. We were told, all of us at the company, to not engage in discussions about that. But Tim is still a very good friend of mine, and he has a very big job now.

Q. Who told you not to discuss that?

A. Uhm, Dan. And just, it’s not something for us to engage in speculation about, the other executives.

Q. Sir, you said you were specifically instructed not to discuss why Mr. Leiweke left the company; correct?

A. With Tim, correct, yes. Nor did Tim discuss it with us.

Q. Sir, I’m only asking about you just told us that you were specifically instructed not to discuss why Mr. Leiweke left the company with anyone; correct?

A. Correct.

Q. And was that an e-mail that you received?

A. No, no.

Q. Was that a meeting?A. It was a conversation.

Q. Who was present when the conversation occurred?

Ms. Stebbins: your honor, I’m going to object to relevance, this entire line of questions.

Mr. Panish: goes to Mr. Leiweke’s bias as a witness and credibility.

Ms. Stebbins: your honor, this has nothing to do with this. The case is about the negligent hiring of Dr. Conrad Murray in 2009, not why Mr. Leiweke left the company in 2013. And Mr. Phillips already testified he doesn’t know why Mr. Leiweke left the company.

Judge: overruled.

Q. You remember the question after those objections?

A. How could I forget? Ok. They, Tim and Phil Anschutz had a disagreement, I’m sure, ok, and whatever it was, they mutually decided that it was time for Tim to move on. That’s all we know.

Q. That wasn’t even my question, sir.

A. No. I’m trying to answer your question.

Q. Ok. So he was fired?

A. You can say he was fired; ok? That doesn’t make it true….

A long discussion follows about Phillips not knowing why Tim Leiweke left. Dan Beckerman is the new CEO of the AEG parent organization and is the new boss of Randy Phillips.

To his predecessor Tim Leiweke Phillips said that he yelled at Michael so loud that the walls were shaking. Now he is refuting each word said in that email – he did not yell, he just raised his voice and was just ‘a little firm’ and ‘more affirmative’ than usual. The word ‘scary’ was an over-reaction and the reason for being ‘affirmative’ was because they were waiting for a certain item of clothing for Michael and the wait was taking too long.

You will agree that being late for the press-conference because they were waiting for a certain item of clothing is a decidedly different version from the previous explanation.  Assuming that now Randy Phillips is finally telling the truth this is how big a difference between the truth and lies might be in case we deal with people like AEG.

I wonder where the media is now and why they are not printing their stories under correct headlines: “AEG exec waited for two hours for a piece of clothing for MJ” or “AEG exec was kidding about MJ drunk and despondent” or “AEG exec says ‘scary’ and ‘yelling’ were an over-reaction”. Why indeed don’t we see any headlines like the above?

Q. Why don’t you read us what you sent to Mr. Leiweke at 5:49 p.m. London time.

A. I said: “MJ is locked in his room drunk and despondent. Tohme and I are trying to sober him up and get him to the press conference with his hairdresser/makeup artist.”

Q. Now, sir, just one second. Let’s go up to the next e-mail that Mr. Leiweke wrote you back. He wrote back, looks like, two hours later; right? Approximately?

A. Yeah. 7:29.

Q. Yeah.

A.“Are you kidding me?”

Q. He wanted to know if you were pulling a gag on him; right?

A. No. I think he just felt that it was incredulous that this was happening at this time.

Q. Ok. What did you write back? Let’s see what you wrote back to him in response. And you wrote this now at 7:33. So if we advance it eight hours help me out. What time would it be? You’re a numbers guy.

A. I’m the numbers man? Ok. It would make it 5:33 in the afternoon.

Q. London time?

A. Correct.

Q. Ok. So read to us what you told your boss, Mr. Leiweke.

A.“I screamed at him so loud the walls are shaking. Tohme and I have dressed him, and they are finishing his hair, and then we are rushing to the 02. This is the scariest thing I have ever seen. He’s an emotionally paralyzed mess, filled with self-loathing and doubt now that it is how time. He is scared to death. Right now I just want to get through this press conference.”

Mr. Panish: all right. Now, I want to play what you testified at your deposition. Page 64, 1to16, and page 64, 22, to 65 64/22 to 65/21. Did I already play that? No, I didn’t. Is that ok?

Mr. Putnam: (no response.)

Mr. Panish: ok. You can play that. (A video clip was played with the following testimony being said:)

Q. Did you yell at him? 

A. At some time during the afternoon, I you know, the word ‘yell’ might be a little bit extreme, And I might have used it to describe it. But I at one point it was taking so long, we were waiting  for him to get ready, and there was one item of clothing that he was waiting for, and time was ticking away, and I got a little louder and a little more affirmative than I had been in dealing with him up till then.

Q. Did you yell at him? 

A. I raised my voice. I was a little firm.

Q. You were a little firm? 

A. Yeah.

Q. Ok. Was there anything you saw that afternoon before getting to the press conference that scared you in terms of Mr. Jackson ‘s condition, behavior? 

A. Yeah. Well, you know, the word ‘scary,’ in looking back at it, probably is an overreaction to what was going on that afternoon, the fact that we were late for the press conference. And, yeah, when you have a press conference to announce the comeback of the greatest star in the world, and he’s running two hours late, and he appeared to be somewhat hung over, yeah, I would say I’m not sure ‘scary’ looking back, if I’d use the word scary or really more concerned.

Q. And did you conclude, based on what you saw, that Mr. Jackson was an emotionally paralyzed mess? 

A. That was a description that I used to describe what I encountered, what my observation was.

Q. You know what I’m talking about; right? 

A. Yes.

Q. You send an e-mail to Mr. Leiweke? 

A. Yes.

Q. So you said in the e-mail he was drunk; you said in the deposition he was hung over; right? And now you’ve told us he was drunk; correct? Is that right, sir?

A. It’s not a “yes” or “no” answer.

Q. All right. Did you testify in…

A. Do you want the truth, or do you want what I testified?

Q. You want to ask me questions? I just played your testimony, sir, didn’t I?

A. Correct.

Q. Ok. Is that the truth, what you said in your testimony?

A. I was responding to what Dr. Tohme had told me, and I was relaying that message.

Q. Sir, were you telling the truth in the deposition that I just played?

A. To the best of my recollection, I was, yes, sir.

Q. So is it so the truth, were you telling the truth? “yes” or “no”?

A. Yes.

Q. Ok. Were you telling the truth in this e-mail?

A. The e-mail?

Q. “MJ is drunk and despondent.” Were you telling the truth to Mr. Leiweke when you wrote that? “yes” or “no”?

A. I was relaying what Dr. Tohme had told me.

Q. Do you say that Dr. Tohme told you that MJ is locked in his room drunk and despondent?

A. No, because these things everything was happening so fast, it’s all merged together in one e-mail.

Q. I see. I see. So, really, if you knew lawyers were going to ask you about this, you wouldn’t have wrote it this way; right? You would have written it differently?

A. No. At the time I didn’t have any time. I wrote it as fast as I could write it.

Q. All right, sir. And you must have yelled pretty loud or screamed pretty loud to make walls shake?

A. It’s an expression, exaggeration.

Q. Do you have a tendency to exaggerate, sir?

A. I knew you were going to ask that. No. No, I don’t.

Q. This is the only time you’ve ever exaggerated anything relating to Michael Jackson ?

A. No, no. Mr. Panish, in our lives, I’m sure we all exaggerate at times; ok?

Q. I asked you, sir.

A. Yes.

Q. You want to keep talking?

A. No. Well, actually, Mr. Panish, if you would allow me to, I would like to explain the circumstances of what was going on that afternoon.

Q. I’m getting to that right now.

A. Ok.

Before we reach the final scene there is one more detail worth mentioning. It turns out that Randy Phillips was spreading  lies about Michael being “drunk and despondent” among everyone around Michael thus creating the atmosphere of contempt, ridicule and unsafety for the man. He told his big story to everyone  – Gongaware,  a certain Loeffler, his partner in a different company, the transportation guys who were waiting for them downstairs,  “a few people in the company” – in short, to everyone in AEG who could only hear and listen.

By the way it was Loeffler that Randy Phillips put into Michael’s dressing room. Michael asked his friends what the man was doing in his room and was deeply distrustful of him:

Q. Did you tell anyone else besides your boss, Mr. Leiweke or, as you call him, your direct report that Mr. Jackson is a self-loathing, paralyzed mess?

A. I probably had a conversation with Paul Gongaware who was at the 02 at the time, where I may have used similar terms. I had an associate of mine who was downstairs getting the transportation ready. I may have said that to him. I’m you know, there were probably a few people in my company that I may have said that to.

Q. Ok. First of all, Mr. Loeffler, is he a friend of yours?

A. Loeffler.

Q. Is he a friend of yours?

A. As is Mr. Gongaware, yes.

Q. Does he go over to your home?

A. Does he go over to my home?

Q. Yes.

A. He has been to my home, yes.

Q. I mean, he was at your home does he live there at your home?

A. No. He lived in Utah with his wife and kids.

Q. Well, he was at your home the day that Michael Jackson died, wasn’t he?

A. No. We were… he was in my car. We were at the dry cleaners. We were on the way to the StaplesCenter.

Q. You still work together?

A. David and I? Yes.

Q. And you still have your management company?

A. Yes.

Q. And what is your management company called?

A. Phillips digital media.

Q. So in addition to being the CEO of AEG live, you have another job where you run a management company; is that right?

A. It’s a small management company, yes.

Q. Is Mr. Loeffler a partner with you in that business?

A. Yes, he is.

Q. Did Mr. Loeffler ever work on the “This Is It” tour?

A. He was with me in London during the press conference because he was producing he and I were both producing Lionel Richie’s European tour. So he was there with me then, so he was helping me out at the press conference. And then I asked him to do me a favor when we were in rehearsals the last two days, June 23rd and 24th, at the Staples center.

Q. Now, could you answer my question, please?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. Was Mr. Loeffler working for AEG live in conjunction with the “This Is It” tour?

A. No.

Q. So he wasn’t being paid?

A. No.

Q. And the favor was, you stationed him in Mr. Jackson ‘s dressing room for the last two days, correct?

A. I stationed him?

Q. Yeah. You had  him stand with Mr. Jackson ?

A. No.

Q. Did you ask Mr. Loeffler to go into Mr. Jackson ‘s dressing room the last two days?

A. No.

Q. Ok. And he wasn’t in Mr. Jackson ‘s dressing room, was he?

A. No, he was. I was I asked him to help

Q. There’s no question pending, sir.

A. No, I know. I know. But you want to color something that isn’t the

Mr. Panish: excuse me, your honor. He’s just talking.

Judge: give the full answer.

A. Ok. Mr. Loeffler, ok, was not stationed, the way you put it, in Mr. Jackson ‘s dressing room. Mr. Ortega, our director, asked me if I could get somebody to just ask Michael if he needed tea, water, food, things like that, because he had a staff of four bodyguards and an assistant, and no one seemed to care about what his needs were. So the person who was going to do that on the tour, Brigitte Segal, was in London scouting out houses for him for the 02 run. She was going to be back that week. I asked Dave to do that for me so – because Michael knew him, it was not a strange face; ok? And believe me, ok, he was not a spy. There was nothing in that dressing room I needed to know.

Q. Anything else you wanted to say, sir?

A. No. I’m glad I got a chance to say that. Thank you.

Q. You’re welcome. Brigitte Segal, was she overlooking housing for Conrad Murray, also?

A. No. I don’t know if Dr. Murray was going to stay in a hotel, he was going to stay at Michael ‘s house. I had no idea what arrangements were being made for him.

Q. Wait a minute. You don’t know that Brigitte Segal had been finding houses for Dr. Murray,sir? You never heard that?

A. No.

Q. You never heard that she showed Dr. Murray properties where he could live in London?

A. I know you think I am an omnipotent being in this job

Q. Excuse me. Just answer

Judge: he’s answering.

They go on talking in the same manner about Brigitte Segal securing housing for Karen Faye, Alberto Alvarez, Conrad Murray, Michael Amir, Rosalyn Mohammed, Michael Bush, Frank & Miko. Let me remind you that AEG made Michael financially responsible for all these housing arrangements.

Now we are getting closer to the final and truly dramatic scene:

Q. Sir, you know what it means to sober someone up?

A. To sober someone up? I assume if they’re drunk, that means to get them sober.

Q. When they’re drunk, you try to sober them up; right?

A. Correct. That’s what I’m assuming it means, yes.

Q. Well, sir, you wouldn’t try to sober up someone who had a hangover, would you?

A. I don’t know. I don’t drink.

Q. Ok. Well, let’s see what you say about that. Let’s look at 93-1 again, in the bottom. And you told me that Dr. Tohme told you all this information about Mr. Jackson being drunk; correct?

A. Correct.

Q. But you and Dr. Tohme were trying to sober up Mr. Jackson , weren’t you?

A. What I told you, and what I testified to prior, is that this e-mail, it’s kind of compressed, the two events, that makes it sound like it’s all at the same time.

Q. Ok. Could you answer my question, please? Were you and Dr. Tohme trying to sober up Mr.Jackson ? “yes” or “no”?

A. Yes.

Q. Did you write that in this e-mail? “Tohme and I are trying to sober him up,” meaning MichaelJackson ?

A. And I used the word “sober.”

Mr. Panish: excuse me, your honor. Can he answer the question, please?

Judge: ok. Listen to the question, and answer. Your attorney will have an opportunity toask you questions to clarify something. I mean, if I don’t if you have an explanation, I want you to give an explanation.

Mr. Phillips: I understand.

Judge: focus on the question.

A. I understand. The answer is “yes.” The answer is “yes.”

Q. Now, let’s go back to exhibit no. 270 no. 2780, and let’s start at page 3,which I showed you earlier. You have it there in front of you. And this is with your colleague, I’ll call him, Loeffler. Did I get that right?

A. David Loeffler, yes.

Q. Mr. Loeffler?

A. My colleague.

Q. Is it fair to call him your colleague?

A. And friend, yes.

Q. And you’re telling Mr. Loeffler that you and Dr. Tohme threw Michael Jackson in a cold shower; right?

A. Correct.

Let me break his narrative once again. So Michael was not drunk and there was absolutely no need to “sober him up”, but nevertheless they put him under a cold shower and actually threw him there?

For what purpose I wonder? To show their power over him? To intimidate him? And does the fact that they thought that they were sobering him up but were mistaken in their assumptions make it any better?

If some people come to your place and throw you into a cold shower, what will be your actions, dear reader? A sheer stranger violates your privacy, touches you all over, drags you into the bathroom and throws you in your clothes into a cold shower? Or did they strip him naked before that? And will this version be any better if this is indeed what they did to Michael?

The first person to voice an opinion about this outrage was Phillips’s friend Loeffler. He replied to Phillips after reading his email – “your crazy”. However Phillips was evidently enjoying himself so much that upon seeing Loeffler’s reply he chose to correct his grammar – so this is how “nerve-stricken” he was:

Q. And then, go to the page before that so you and Mr. Loeffler were communicating back and forth, weren’t you?

A. By e-mail.

Q. Right. By e-mail. By Blackberry, actually. You had a Blackberry?

A. That’s correct.

Q. And then he tells you, you’re crazy; right?

A. I’m just looking for that in the e-mail.

Q. Yeah, sure. Just look at the screen. Maybe that will be better for you. He says, “your crazy.” look like he sent it from a Blackberry, too.

A. Yes.

Q. And then you two minutes later, approximately, three minutes, later you correct him; right? While you’re dealing with Mr. Jackson , who is drunk and despondent, you’re correcting Mr.Loeffler on his grammar; right?

A. It’s a habit I tend to have.

Q. But while all this was going on in a short period of time, and everything was jammed together, and you’re so busy, you’re correcting your friend on his grammar; correct?

A. That’s the role I play with most of my executives as a mentor, yes.

Q. Ok. Then by the way, did you hit Mr. Jackson?

Here it is. As if all that madness was not enough for us, now we learn that in addition to stripping Michael of all dignity and throwing him into a cold shower Randy Phillips actually HIT Michael.

Phillips wrote about it in an email because he wanted to inform the transportation guys how he finally managed to get Michael going.

So Michael was taken from the shower, given some clothes and at this point he yelled at him so that the walls were shaking and then he slapped him too – evidently as the final argument in favor of going to the news conference?

To our amazement he also admits that it was he who was creating the tension in that room. So it wasn’t Michael who was the problem but actually Randy Phillips? So it was Randy Phillips who was an emotional mess full of arrogance and conceit?

Where are our media outlets with all their headlines? Why not say this for example: “AEG exec says he was an emotional mess” or “AEG exec slapped Michael  in a hysterical whim”?

Q. Ok. Then by the way, did you hit Mr. Jackson?

A. No.

Q. Ok. Well, let’s see what you said at the top of that page at 712/17. Why don’t you read what you said, sir?

A. This is in response to getting the transportation set up. I said:“you  guys are going to follow US behind a 12-passenger bus back there. I just slapped him and screamed at him louder than I did with Arthur Cassell.”

Q. Who is Arthur Cassell?

A. Arthur Cassell is one of the most annoying human beings on the face of the earth. He committed Lionel Richie to a date at a police department fundraiser for the LAPD, and Lionel never had agreed to do it, and I had to get him out of it. So on the phone with Mr. Cassell, I did actually scream loud enough to shake the wall, the glass walls of my office.

Q. But this time you screamed louder at Mr. Jackson , didn’t you?

A. Well, that’s what I wrote, but that’s not what I did.

Q. And you slapped Mr. Jackson , didn’t you?

A. You ever see a coach with a football team getting ready to leave; ok? And I created

Q. Sir, could you please answer my question? Did you write you just slapped Mr. Jackson ?

A. You want a “yes” or “no” that doesn’t tell the story of what actually happened? What do you want?

Ok. When we were I know what you want.

Mr. Panish: your honor, could I ask him – I just asked him

Q. Did you write…

A. I’m going to answer.

Q. Did you write that you just slapped Mr. Jackson ? “yes” or “no”?

A. No.

Q. Ok. You didn’t write “I just slapped him”?

A. Yeah, I wrote that.

Q. Ok. A. But you want to know what happened?

Q. Sir, can you answer one at a time?

A. Ok. Yes, you’re right. You’re right.

Q. Ok. But that’s an exaggeration again; right?

A. No. I slapped him.

Q. But you slapped him, oh, like a nice slap, like, oh, come on, let’s go, and then you screamed. Louder than you did at Arthur Cassell; is that correct?

A. Here’s what I did; ok? This was a very tense situation. And, you know, frankly, I created the tension in that room; ok?

Q. Sir, IA. Because I was so nerve-racked, ok, the time slipping away, and his career slipping away; ok?

Mr. Panish: your honor, could he answer the question? And the question was – 

A. As to the slap. I’m going to get to it.

Judge: you know what? Only one person can talk at a time, so probably best if you can listen to the question and answer what is asked.

Q. Ok. Your lawyer, who you trust, will get to ask you whatever you want; ok?A. Ok.Q. Can you try to answer mine now? It’s my turn. I get to ask questions on behalf of my client;ok?A. Be my guest.Q. When you wrote “I just slapped him,” was that an exaggeration?

A. Nah. I slapped him on the butt.

Q. Ok. And when you screamed louder than you did at Arthur Cassell, and that time the windows shook in your office, was that another exaggeration?

A. At the time it was an exaggeration, yes.

Q. So that’s another exaggeration?

A. It was an exaggeration.

Q. Ok. Fair enough.

As regards Randy Phillips’ so-called exaggerations another one was told to Karen Faye when she shared with him her concerns about Michael Jackson’s health. Phillips’ words were full of contempt for Michael and  meant to show Karen that he was a good-for-nothing addict or alcoholic whose health did not even matter. His reply to Karen was that he had to ‘scrape him off the floor in his room”.

Now he says that he hears of it for the first time:

(a video clip was played with the following testimony being said:)

Q. Did you ever tell anybody that you scraped Mr. Jackson off the Floor in his hotel room in London before the press conference? 

A. Not to my knowledge.

Q. I’m sorry. When you say ‘not to my knowledge,’ is it your testimony that you don’t remember ever saying that, or is it your testimony that you did not say that? 

A. I don’t remember ever saying that.

Q. Ok. So it may have happened, it may not have happened. You’re not sure? 

A. I’m not sure.” 

So that press-conference was so precious to Phillips that for the sake of it he went as far as hitting Michael Jackson. But was that press-conference needed at all?

Absolutely not.

Four days after the conference Phillips’ friend wrote to him an email saying that by the time the press-conference was held half a million people had already registered for tickets so it looks like the press-conference did not matter. Surely Phillips was the first to know about it and now he says they could have simply released a press statement and that would be it.

Randy Phillips was stunned that they did not even have to make an effort to sell tickets (which was their only real obligation under the contract for which they charged Michael 10%) – all major media outlets came to them themselves, thousands registered for the tickets and all this was due to the magnetic power of the man whom he heavily undervalued and slapped four days ago:

Q. Ok. Do you have exhibit 102, sir?

A. Yes

Q. Are you involved in that e-mail chain?

A. Yes, I am.

Q. And this is from the C.O.O correct?

A. Correct.

Q.”Radio silent” means no communication?

A. Correct.

Q. And this is four days later?

A. Correct.

Q. You still in London now?

A. Yes.

Q. But you communicate by Blackberry; right?

A. Yes.

Q. And you say: “the press conference didn’t overwhelm me.” you don’t say that, he says that.

A. That’s correct.

Q.“I hear there are 450,000 registrants. So I guess the press conference didn’t really matter.” so he was not really impressed with the press conference; right?

A. No.

Q. Is that

A. That’s correct.

Q. Ok. So then you write back: “I don’t understand. 335 media outlets, front page in every major newspaper in the world, and the equivalent of over a million tickets sold in registrations….

Randy Phillips surely did not understand whom he had slapped four days before that, otherwise he would not have done it.

A week  before the press-conference Gongaware said to Phillips that they could do a press-conference without Michael and was perfectly right in this statement.  But his email had one more crucial thing betraying AEG’s intentions – he said that if they sold tickets Michael would be locked and would have not choice. Once the tickets were sold he would have to do the shows.

Doesn’t it perfectly explain why they set up 50 shows for him? They wanted to lock him and leave him no choice!

Randy Phillips’ deposition:

Q. Now, this is before the London press conference; right? This is February 27th, 

A. Yes.

Q. And the London press conference is March 5? 

A. Right.

Q. Mr. Gongaware wrote: ‘meanwhile, our play here is to not back off. We are holding all the risk. If MJ won’t approve it, we go without his approval.’  You see that? 

A. Correct.

Q. Did you agree with that tactic? 

A. Yeah. I’m not 100 percent sure what he was referring to.

Q. What do you believe he was referring to? 

A. That Michael was trying to back out of the press according to this, that he wasn’t going to get on the plane and go to London to do the press conference “and Paul ” that had been scheduled. ” and Paul recommended going ahead with the press conference and putting the tickets on sale, because ‘once we go on sale, which we have the right to do.

Q.  He is locked. He has no choice. He has to do it. Right?

 A. That’s what he wrote.

Q. Ok. Did you agree with that?

A No.

Q. Did you ever respond to this e-mail saying that you disagreed with it? A. “not that I remember.” 

Q. So Mr. Gongaware told you that: “if Michael doesn’t approve it, we go without his approval.” Correct?

A. The marketing collateral, yes.

Q. And he said: “once we go on sale, which we have the right to do, he is locked.” That meansMr. Jackson is locked in; right?A. That’s what he’s saying, yes.

Q. “and he has no choice. He has to do it.” Right?

A. That’s what Mr. Gongaware was saying, yes.

Q. And you never corrected those statements; correct?

A. I did to verbally to him, but not in e-mail.

Q. I’m sorry, sir?

A. I did verbally to him but not in e-mail.

Q. You didn’t respond to this and say, “don’t say that. We don’t want to pressure Mr. Jackson . He is not locked in.” you didn’t say that, did you?

A. That’s not my conversation with him.

Q. Did you write back to Mr. Gongaware and say, “Paul, hey, that’s not right. We don’t want to push him into this. We don’t need it’s not correct that there’s no time left to push this back”? Did you tell him that?

A. Well, we could have canceled the press conference we didn’t have to do a press conference.

Q. Did you write back and say, “Paul, we can back off now. It won’t be a disaster for us. There’s time left to push this back”? Did you write back and say that?

A. A. No. I had …

It’s not use reading it any further. We know well in advance what Randy Phillips’ answers will be like.

Of course they wanted to lock Michael and leave him no choice, and therefore set for him 50 dates. They knew he would have to do those shows after that.

In fact they never gave to him  any choice – from the very start of it. For Michael Jackson his cooperation with AEG started with no choice and a slap, and ended with no choice and a slap too, because all those AEG demands that he should rehearse were also a big slap in the face of Michael Jackson.

For his earlier tours he seldom rehearsed, and did not understand why he could not decide for himself, and had to waste all his remaining energy on those damned rehearsals. He had no such obligation to AEG and was not even obliged to explain himself to them.  And Phillips had no right to pressure him – either at rehearsals or that useless press-conference, let alone use such arguments like throwing him into a cold shower, yelling at him or giving him a slap in the face. I wonder how Michael could bring himself to talk to Phillips after all that.

It is impossible to imagine how he managed to dance, sing and even occasionally smile after that humiliation. It makes you cry, scream and mourn in silence, and then cry and scream about it again.

*  *  *

The full transcript of Phillips’s testimony on June 5, 2013 was posted by the great TeamMichaelJackson:

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