MICHAEL Jackson hid the depth of his prescription drug addiction in his final weeks, his pal Akon has revealed.
Speaking as a new bombshell documentary delves into the King of Pop’s demise, R&B star Akon told how he saw no alarm bells on his last video call with Michael Jackson.
4
The friends – who collaborated together on the Thriller 25 album and hit duet Hold My Hand – chatted just two weeks before Jackson’s tragic overdose death in June 2009 at the age of 50.
The singer, 49, told The U.S. Sun: “He did not look ill and he did not move like he was ill.
“He was the kind of person that if he was not feeling well he would not say anything. He never wanted anyone to see his weakest moments.
“Michael was a larger than life figure to everybody, and he always wanted to lead by example. He felt that strength should be displayed.
“So if he was sick the only person that would know that would be his doctor or maybe one of the managers but as far as people out there in the world he would never show that. He could be as sick as a dog in front of you, but you would never know as he would act like everything is okay.”
St. Louis-born Akon was speaking ahead of the premiere this week of Fox TV documentary TMZ Investigates: Who Really Killed Michael Jackson.
The TV special points the finger at late dermatologist to the stars Dr Arnold Klein for getting MJ hooked on painkillers.
Jackson’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe told the documentary that she feels guilty about standing by while her boss Dr Klein treated patients like MJ.
A Jackson family source told The Sun that some of his relatives and friends had been left “dumbfounded” by what Rowe said.
Akon says that he was clueless that Jackson was taking powerful anaesthesia Propofol with the aid of his doctor Conrad Murray.
Murray was convicted in was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter for providing the dose of Propofol that killed Jackson in Los Angeles.
Akon said: “If you know Mike the way I know him, the only person that can be liable for anything to happen to Mike when it comes to prescriptions would be the doctor.
“Because nobody got close enough to Mike to even do that. And Mike never had drugs around him.
“I know for sure because I was around him for almost two years straight and didn’t see any of that.
“The only person that could be liable for anything to happen to Mike when it comes to prescription drugs would definitely be the doctor.”
‘DIDN’T DRINK, SMOKE OR DO DRUGS’
Akon was also adamant he would have stepped in to save the superstar had he witnessed anything unusual.
He explained: ”Believe me, if it would ever cross my path, me personally, believe me, Mike wouldn’t be doing any of that.
“Because when we were together, drugs weren’t even a conversation. He knows I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I don’t do any kind of drugs.
“From my understanding, me knowing him, he didn’t smoke, he didn’t drink, he didn’t do any kind of drugs.”
Akon also told how Jackson was both a professional inspiration and a sensitive soul away from the limelight.
He said: “Working with him was probably the biggest honor of my life. I grew up and like many others was a huge Michael fan.
“He was amazing. But there was two sides to Michael – the entertainer and person. The entertainer was always perfect.
“He would not settle for anything less than amazing.
“I felt like he put too much on himself when he became an entertainer, because he always wanted the world to experience something they had never felt before. He was a perfectionist to its core.
“I go with the flow more, but Mike never believed in that.
“He felt it had to be the most incredible thing anybody had seen or heard or experience. He lived and ran by that.”
The Sun revealed earlier this week that Akon believes Jackson took sleeping pills in the lead-up to his death because he was trying to put on the “greatest show on earth” and was too excited to sleep.
He also explained how MJ’s drive was a “gift and a curse” as he prepared for the This Is It concert residency at the 02 Arena in London in 2009.
Akon spoke about his friend as he promoted his new single Enjoy That and the release of an EP called Konvict Kulture Presents Teemanay.
He explained: “In Enjoy That the chorus says, ‘Why have a life like mine if you don’t take the time to enjoy that s***?’
“It’s a reflection of all the stuff that I’ve been experiencing. I’m having the most amazing life, but the problem is I never really have time to enjoy it.”
Akon has also created energy company Akon Lighting to create clean energy in Africa and America and launched the Akon City project in Senegal to found a fully sustainable city in the West African nation.
TMZ Investigates: Who Really Killed Michael Jackson, featuring exclusive and never-before-seen interviews, premiered on Tuesday, September 6 on Fox.
4
4