Stylist: Jackson More Engaged In Last Rehearsals

Karen Faye said Jackson’s last rehearsals were much improved over previous efforts, but she was concerned about his physical and emotional health and thought that drug use might be a factor.

Faye said she was concerned about whether Jackson would be able to perform the high-intensity shows since shortly after they were announced in March 2009, but grew more worried after working with him and seeing him unable to gain weight and struggle to rehearse.

That changed on the two nights before Jackson’s June 25, 2009, death. The singer showed flashes of the friend and entertainer she had worked with over a 27-year period.

“I was somewhat relieved because I saw more of Michael, he was laughing and he was actually participating in a rehearsal,” Faye said. P

Jackson’s demeanor and stage presence were still diminished from previous years, she said, and she was struggling to understand why. She said she couldn’t ask him directly because of other issues.

“Michael wasn’t very coherent in that last week,” Faye said. The judge struck that answer after an objection.

Faye resumed testifying Friday after a seven-week hiatus in her testimony due to scheduling issues. She was responding to questions by a defense lawyer for AEG Live LLC, which is being sued by Jackson’s mother.

Katherine Jackson claims AEG executives missed signs about the singer’s health and failed to properly investigate the doctor convicted of administering a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol.

AEG denies it hired Conrad Murray, the former physician convicted of giving Jackson an overdose of the anesthetic propofol. The company also denies it pushed Jackson to rehearse.

Faye told jurors that she was never pressured by AEG executives Randy Phillips or Paul Gongaware to get Jackson to rehearse.

The stylist testified earlier in the trial that she overheard Gongaware tell Jackson’s assistant to get him out of a locked bathroom and to a rehearsal. Gongaware denies that conversation ever happened.

Woman’s Statement To Jackson Jurors Prompts Inquiry

A judge questioned two alternate jurors in the civil trial over Michael Jackson’s death after a woman approached them and told them not to award the singer’s family any money in the case.

Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos and attorneys on the case questioned the alternates, who said the woman approached them during a break Friday afternoon. Both said the woman told them not to award any money in the case against concert promoter AEG Live LLC.

The alternates said they told the woman she couldn’t talk to them, but she persisted for several moments before finally leaving them alone. They described the woman but said they did not see her in the courtroom after testimony concluded Friday.

The alternate jurors said their interaction would not affect their judgment about the case. The judge told them to return to court Monday and report to bailiffs or court staffers if they saw the woman again.

Jackson family attorney Brian Panish said the interaction was jury tampering and is a felony.

The case has five alternate jurors remaining after one had to be dismissed because he is moving out of state.