MICHAEL Jackson’s last bodyguard has revealed the hidden struggles he believes played a major role in the ‘King of Pop’ being killed at the age of just 50.
Bill Whitfield said Jackson – who would have turned 66 today – had become “frail” in the weeks before his death in 2009.
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Bill Whitfield, left, pictured with Michael Jackson Credit: Facebook
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Bill was Jackson’s last personal bodyguard before his death in 2009. Credit: PA
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Jackson at his child abuse trial in Santa Barbara County Superior Court, California on June 3, 2005. Credit: EPA
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The star was pictured rehearsing for her This Is It concerts just two days before her death. Credits: Brochure
Celebrity security guard Bill became Jackson’s bodyguard in December 2006 – shortly after he was acquitted of shocking child sexual abuse allegations.
He said he read stories about the case and took the job unsure in his own head if the allegations were true.
Bill told The Sun: “He was very sad. Things were different, he had just faced a few trials.
“Like everyone, I heard all the stories before I started working for him, so it would be normal for me to wonder about the situation.
“Being so close and personal with someone, if that was the situation, it would reveal itself.
“I paid close attention to him and his surroundings and how he communicated with his children and other people
“I never wanted to believe those things, but I certainly kept an eye, I paid extra attention, because I didn’t know him until I started working for him.”
Bill ended up considering the star a “very good friend” – and saw Jackson in some of his most vulnerable moments.
He insisted the allegations against them had no weight and said: “It wasn’t him.”
Bill added: “Nothing remotely like that has surfaced to make me believe or assume otherwise.
Anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death
“That wasn’t his character. You had to be around him to know him, and I was there. So, no, it wasn’t him. And so it still surprises me when I hear things like that.
“I’m just sorry he wasn’t around long enough to actually tell his side of the story so people could better understand who he was.
“He would never hurt a child. This was not the man I knew.
“He once said he would cut his wrist before hurting a child.
“So I know those allegations were painful for him. I can tell it changed him.”
After becoming a child star, Jackson spent four decades at the center of the world stage – selling 500 million records in the process.
However, he became embroiled in controversy when he was accused of sexually abusing a child in 1993.
He was definitely stressed. And stress kills.
It was settled out of civil court – however, in 2005 Jackson, a father of three, went on trial on further damaging allegations of child sexual abuse.
The FBI was unable to find any evidence of criminal conduct and Jackson was acquitted.
Shaken by the four-month trial, the Man in the Mirror singer became reclusive and decided not to return to his beloved ranch, Neverland.
And after his HIStory World Tour in 1997, Jackson avoided performing any major concerts.
But in March 2009, he set the world on fire by announcing a series of comeback concerts.
The This Is It residency was to run a staggering 50 dates at London’s O2 Arena from July 2009 to March 2010.
Jackson moved to LA, where he spent endless hours rehearsing – which Bill says took its toll on the star – especially after the publicly staged trial.
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He said: “Before the whole This Is It tour came into play, a lot had changed.
“There were more people in his life and it became hectic.
“I saw that he was a little weaker than usual, he had been working out a lot. I could tell it was weighing him down.”
Just three weeks before Jackson was set to begin a long-awaited sold-out residency, he died of an overdose.
Bill said that over the years he wondered if singer Billie Jean could have been killed on purpose.
He said: “Do I think anyone made a mistake? Yes.
“I tried to work on thinking about whether this was intentional.
“But the thought that [he died] into someone’s hands on purpose, that doesn’t bother me.
“I’ve often been asked what I think killed him. And I’ve told people, a lot of everything. And it includes a lot of us.
“There were so many people who wanted not only to be near him, but there were so many people who wanted something from him.
How did Michael Jackson die?
MICHAEL Jackson died on June 25, 2009 at 2:26 p.m.
The star was discovered in bed by his personal physician, Conrad Murray.
He tried after midnight ahead of his comeback concerts at the O2 Arena and didn’t leave his bedroom that morning.
Murray tried to revive Jackson for five to ten minutes before calling paramedics.
The singer was given CPR for 42 minutes at his home in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, before being taken to hospital.
Emergency services arrived at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center at 1:14 p.m., and Jackson was pronounced dead after more than an hour of CPR efforts at 2:26 p.m.
A three-hour autopsy was performed at the LA County Coroner’s Office the day after Jackson’s death.
He was found to have died of an overdose of a combination of drugs, with propofol and lorazepam listed as the primary substances.
Other drugs found in the pop star’s body included midazolam, diazepam, lidocaine and ephedrine.
The coroner ruled his death a homicide.
Murray was sentenced to four years in prison in November 2011 for involuntary manslaughter while giving Jackson propofol for two months to help treat his insomnia ahead of his tour.
He served two years of his sentence and was released in October 2013.
“And that can be devastating. He was definitely under stress. And stress kills.
“I love it [think] he didn’t just pass away, he was gone. He left this place, this world, for a better place because he would never get the rest he needed in this life.”
Bill said he couldn’t believe it when he first got the call on June 25, 2009, saying his boss was dead.
He added: “People started phoning me saying ‘have I heard’ – I said have I heard what?
“They said that Michael had passed away.
“And at first I didn’t believe it because once we were driving in Virginia and they announced on the radio that Michael Jackson had died.
“And he was in the back of the car, and I was looking right at him.
“And I said, ‘Mr Jackson did you hear that, they said you died’.
“And he said ‘oh, I get that all the time’.
“So when the situation was real, I didn’t believe it at first.”
MY FRIEND, MY BOSS
Describing Jackson as “different”, Bill said he considered him a “very good friend”.
Bill added: “He trusted me, even when it came to his most valuable thing, his children.
“As much as I considered him my friend, he was still my boss.
“And he got on my nerves – everyone who had a boss or superior, I’m sure they got on their nerves at some point. It certainly worked for me.
“He must have been going to the movies and he insisted on taking spray butter and hot sauce with him to the movies.
“And there were times when we forgot about it, and then he didn’t want to go to the movies.
“It was so serious for him, I guess, that he could enjoy the moment the way he wanted to enjoy it.
“He liked to go on long drives at three, four in the morning. And we would just drive, whether it was up and down Las Vegas Boulevard or wherever we were in the country.
“He would just like to drive and kind of enjoy the outside world without rushing.
“I know he was dealing with something or going through something, and they would go on those long drives together to his thoughts.”
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Jackson leaves a Santa Barbara County courtroom after testifying for the defense in a child abuse trial in May 2005. Credit: EPA
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Jackson’s children Blankey, Paris and Prince at the memorial service for their father in July 2009. Credit: EPA
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The star poses at a press conference at the O2 Arena in London in March 2009. Credit: AFP or licensors
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