The first day of the Conrad Murray trial was yesterday, and two witnesses were called to the stand: Kenny Ortega, and Paul Gongaware. Both witnesses discussed Michael Jackson, and their professional relationship with the superstar. Gongaware, the CEO of AEG took to the witness stand yesterday, and discussed the This Is It tour date that the King of Pop was working to launch prior to his passing.
As TMZ reports, there are some key things that Gongaware revealed during his testimony, and questioning by the prosecution yesterday. Gongaware revealed that the tour started out with 10 dates, and alleges that Michael Jackson wanted to add another 21 shows which would bring the total number of anticipated concert dates to 31. Gongaware also revealed the alleged reasoning behind adding additional shows. The CEO of AEG claimed that the artist Prince had performed 21 shows at the O2 Arena, and Michael Jackson wanted to perform 10 more dates than Prince. As viewers watching the CEO of AEG testify, there are aware of the fact that Gongaware also stated that even though all the concert dates sold out, there was a number of people waiting for the opportunity to buy tickets — 250,000 people. Gongaware revealed that by the time Michael Jackson would have performed all the tour dates, 1 million people would have gone to London to watch him perform — that has never been done.
Gongaware also revealed that Michael Jackson asked specifically that Conrad Murray be his doctor while on tour in London, and the CEO explained that he had reservations and would have preferred that Jackson have a doctor in London that knew the area. He also explained that Murray was not licensed to practice medicine in London, and that Murray told him that he would take care of that detail. Gongaware also revealed that Murray asked for $5 million dollars, claiming that he would have to close down some of his clinics. The CEO then refused the proposal. He went on to explain that Michael Jackson then asked him to offer Murray $150,000 a month, which Murray agreed to. Murray was to also receive flights to and from London, and housing for himself and his family.
It is not hard to imagine the fact that a countless number of people would have loved the opportunity to see Michael Jackson perform live. The King of Pop is one of the most popular, and successful stars of all-time, if not THE most successful of all-time.
What do you think of what Paul Gongaware had to say about the This Is It tour, Michael Jackson, and Conrad Murray? What do you think of what was said about MJ allegedly wanting to perform more shows than Prince?
