Michael Jackson was 'paralytic' when he made a public appearance in London in 2009 to announce his This Is It gigs, according to a former friend of the star.
Jackson would reportedly knock back up to six bottles of wine a day in an attempt to beat his insomnia problems, claims Mark Lester, the godfather of Jackson's three children. He claims Jackson was 'paralytic' when he announced his O2 shows, and was only just able to make the speech.
"Michael passed out on the hotel bed. His doctor said he’d drunk two-thirds of a bottle of whisky and was paralytic," Lester tells The Sun newspaper. "He sobered up enough to struggle through the This Is It speech, which he just about got away with."
Jackson never performed the London O2 gigs due to his death three months later after due to a sedative overdose.
Was Michael Jackson drunk when he announced his This Is It shows?
It had previously been claimed that concert promoter AEG had hired a Michael Jackson lookalike to make the O2 announcements, in statements made by Michael Jackson's family in their court case against the industry giant.
A source told the Daily Star, "Paris and Prince and their grandmother believe a fake Michael was involved. They have hired detectives to track him down."
Body language expert Bianca Cobb seemingly agrees, as she told Fox News, "In my opinions, the man in the clips isn't Michel Jackson. The walk is cockier and had more bounce than MJ's typical stride. He tended to walk with his head down."
However, AEG have denied the claim while Sony - who released the Michael Jackson This Is It movie - said, "Every frame is undeniably Michael."
Below: Michael Jackson announced his 2009 O2 gigs
