Dr. Conrad Murray was dealt a considerable blow today as the judge in his involuntary manslaughter trial – which begins this fall – ruled that 16 hours of Michael Jackson rehearsal footage is impertinent to Murray’s defense. Murray’s lawyers claimed that the tapes, taken before Jackson’s ill-fated 2009 This Is It tour , showed him to be in chronically poor, declining health. The judge disagreed . Dr. Murray’s told it to the judge … who wasn’t buying it . Dr. Conrad Murray’s lawyers wanted the outtakes to prove Jackson was very ill in the days before his death, and therefore – since he was already dying, or so his theory suggests – Dr. Murray can’t be held responsible for his death. But Judge Michael Pastor ruled the outtakes were valuable to Sony (which didn’t want to release them and has them protected by armed guards ), and also ruled that the videos do not show MJ in noticeably bad health. Because the hours of video show, in the judge’s opinion, a reasonably healthy MJ, it undercuts Dr. Murray’s theory that MJ was a lost cause .
It’s Simon vs. Simon in a battle of music industry titans. Simon Fuller, the creator of American Idol , has filed a legal complaint against Fox Broadcasting and FremantleMedia. At issue is former Idol host Simon Cowell’s forthcoming U.S. version of the British hit, The X Factor . Fuller says the companies failed to honor an agreement from a previous copyright lawsuit he filed against Cowell’s rival reality show in the UK in 2005. In that legal saga, Fuller claimed Cowell, with whom he has an uneasy relationship at best, stole his idea for the series. Fuller’s publicist said that he filed a legal complaint Fox and FremantleMedia’s “refusal to honor a 2005 contract that granted Mr. Fuller an executive producer credit and fees on The X Factor television program in the U.S.” Fox and Fremantle hit back in their own statement, reading: “Mr. Fuller has not been hired, nor performed any duties, on the U.S. version of The X Factor .” “His suit seeks payment and credit as an executive producer despite his neither having been approved by the required parties, nor hired, as such.” “We believe this lawsuit is without merit and we expect to prevail.’ [Photos: WENN.com/FayesVision]
Dr. Conrad Murray’s lawyers saw what happened to Casey Anthony . The doctor’s legal team told the trial judge they don’t want Nancy Grace to influence the jury – not that it worked in Anthony’s case, with Grace eviscerating her daily – so they asked the judge to prohibit jurors from watching. Why anyone would want to anyway is beyond us, but fair point. Dr. Conrad Murray is free on bail as he awaits trial . Attorney Michael Flanagan argued it’s impractical to tell jurors they can’t watch TV – because they simply will anyway – so he wants them sequestered. We’re talking full-on O.J. style. The idea that Murray, who’s charged with involuntary manslaughter in the June 2009 death of Michael Jackson, can’t receive a fair trial because of Nancy Grace is dubious, but the case will receive inordinate media scrutiny. The judge told Flanagan to file a motion and he’d consider it, though the judge did say he thought sequestering was unnecessary and too expensive. Flanagan also pressed his claim for outtakes for the final Michael Jackson rehearsal footage – which Sony won’t give up – in an attempt to prove MJ was on drugs, weak, beyond repair, a lost cause, etc., etc., etc. In a telling comment, Judge Michael Pastor did not seem compelled, saying, “This case is going to focus on the charge, not personal lifestyle.”
Dr. Conrad Murray “sounded tired and he was like I’m gonna get some sleep whatever” just a few hours before Michael Jackson died, a stripper says. Michelle Bella, one of three women Murray was juggling at the time, met MJ’s personal doc at the Spearmint Rhino gentleman’s club in Vegas in ’08. Bella told detectives that on June 25, 2009, Dr. Murray left a message on her phone at about 8:30 a.m. It sounds like the physician was just beat. Bella told cops Murray had mentioned Jackson to her before and said: “I mean his schedule was obviously, you know … I know that he was like up all hours because of his work so when – so when he called, you know, he sounded tired and he was like I’m gonna get some sleep or whatever.” A long-held theory among law enforcement is that Dr. Murray may have actually fallen asleep during the time the drug [Propofol] was administered to MJ and may have awakened to find Jackson already dead from heart failure. It may make his claim that Michael Jackson killed himself even more dubious. On an unrelated note, you gotta read how Conrad met Michelle: Bella told cops about the magic moment when she met Murray at Spearment Rhino: “He came in there with his scrubs and he was there with like a client of his.” Bella, then studying to be a chiropractic assistant, says, “We were just sharing some like, you know, medical knowledge and I know he was intrigued with me.” Murray must have been intensely impressed with her medical knowledge. She “sat with him for about roughly like an hour and a half and he paid me $1,000.” So heartwarming.
Dr. Conrad Murray’s lawyers and the prosecutors in the upcoming Michael Jackson manslaughter trial want to know all sorts of things about potential jurors. A 30-page long questionnaire with 117 questions asks everything from whether individuals read celebrity gossip blogs to whether they’re insomniacs. Some of the many highlights of the exhaustive list include: What Internet sites or celebrity blogs if any, do you visit on a regular basis? Have you posted any blogs concerning Michael Jackson or Conrad Murray? Have you or anyone close to you ever worked in any aspect of the media? Then there are these six questions in which prospective jurors must select either Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree or No Opinion … Celebrities and high-profile people feel like they are entitled to act however they please Celebrities and high-profile people think they can bend the rules Celebrities and high-profile people abuse their power and status to intimidate other into giving them what they want Celebrities and high-profile people in Los Angeles get away with crimes because of their status Celebrities and high-profile people in Los Angeles are treated the same way by the police as anyone else Police are more lenient with celebrities and high-profile people Then there’s the medical portion, critical to the prosecution and the defense of Murray, who will likely claim that Michael Jackson killed himself : Have you or anyone close to you ever had a job that required a professional license? Was that license ever suspended, revoked, restricted, or the subject of investigation or inquiry. Do you have any familiarity with the following medications? (several drugs are listed, many of them drugs MJ took, including Propofol) Do you know anyone who is or has been addicted to prescription medication? Are you or someone close to you currently taking medication for pain, anxiety, depression or insomnia? Reports say Murray is seeking responsible jurors who take responsibility for their own actions, in hopes he will not be found liable for MJ’s death. That’s all tall order, considering he was treating him with a drug he most likely should not have used, but was MJ a lost cause, as Murray claims? Did he push the limit so far no one can be blamed but himself? That’s what he’ll be asking the jury. The trial is set for May 9.
John Legend not a fan of Donald Trump. It’s not The Donald’s reality show or supposed ambitions to run for president in 2012 that have the Grammy-winning pianist pissed, either, but Trump’s recent comments in which he persistently questioned President Obama’s nationality . “He needs to stop saying that racist bulls**t birther s**t,” Legend told N.Y. Magazine . “Quote me please. He should be ashamed of himself. It’s awful, really.” Tell us how you really feel … both of you guys . Trump said on GMA and The View that Obama’s purportedly cloudy childhood fills him with doubt. He then produced his own birth certificate to prove a point. Legend isn’t the first star upset over this. Bill Cosby said on Today that “the only thing he’s running is his mouth,” and Bill O’Reilly even called Trump out. What do you think of Legend’s comments? Is Trump racist for questioning Obama’s birth certificate, or is he just raising a sensitive, but important point?
The feeling may not be reciprocal here, but that’s nice at least. While out at The Grove in Los Angeles yesterday, a photographer caught up with Dr. Conrad Murray, who is awaiting involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Michael Jackson, and asked about the late King of Pop’s offspring. His response: “That’s my children, I love them. I love them.” Dr. Conrad Murray: Man on the Street And this concludes your Dr. Conrad Murray update this week. It’s been fun. We’ll see if jurors show him similar love when his trial kicks off in late April.
The feeling may not be reciprocal here, but that’s nice at least. While out at The Grove in Los Angeles yesterday, a photographer caught up with Dr. Conrad Murray, who is awaiting involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Michael Jackson, and asked about the late King of Pop’s offspring. His response: “That’s my children, I love them. I love them.” Dr. Conrad Murray: Man on the Street And this concludes your Dr. Conrad Murray update this week. It’s been fun. We’ll see if jurors show him similar love when his trial kicks off in late April.
The feeling may not be reciprocal here, but that’s nice at least. While out at The Grove in Los Angeles yesterday, a photographer caught up with Dr. Conrad Murray, who is awaiting involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Michael Jackson, and asked about the late King of Pop’s offspring. His response: “That’s my children, I love them. I love them.” Dr. Conrad Murray: Man on the Street And this concludes your Dr. Conrad Murray update this week. It’s been fun. We’ll see if jurors show him similar love when his trial kicks off in late April.
Miley Cyrus’ SNL Hosting Debut:Miley Cyrus Hosted “SNL” On Saturday Night :Capping off a very stormy night, Miley Cyrus was all smiles as she picked up on SNL after party in New York on Saturday night (March 5). “Hannah Montana” Hottie was fresh from hosting its efforts on “Saturday Night Live”, as she went to Asia de Cuba at the Murray Hill post-filming regularly feast on a long sitcom sketch. With regard to its hosting efforts, Miley took part in several parts, including the singing perfectly set up under the name “Unfortunately, I’m not perfect.” Among other measures Cyrus on SNL, the 18-year-old fake teen sensation Justin Bieber on the “Show Miley Cyrus, as well as doing a parody of the problem” Mean Girls “actress Lindsay Lohan and Blake Eyed Peas singer Stacy” Fergie “Ferguson.
