NANCY GRACE
Michael Jackson Camp Denies Hospitalization Report/North Carolina Day Care Shut After Cops Find Guns and Pot
Aired March 29, 2007 - 20:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight. Music icon Michael Jackson beat the rap on child molestation charges in a California courtroom, but tonight reports indicated Jackson is back in the hospital. Is Jackson`s uncanny track record of entering rehabs and hospitals when it`s time to go to court back in play?
...
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight. First, Michael Jackson in the hospital? Will a courtroom be next?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There have been instances when he`s had to perform on stage and he was upset about one thing or another, and he would have a panic attack and actually (INAUDIBLE) hospitalized. So I can tell from you my own sources in the Jackson camp that he is very sick right now. He was diagnosed with it back in the 1980s. He does have it, and you know (INAUDIBLE)
REV. JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION: He had a terrible fall sometime back, and then another fall in the shower, and he periodically has these back spasms. I am sure that the stress and anxiety of this period is a factor, but his physical pain is real.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Jackson, are you all right? And he looked in our direction, but really couldn`t focus or didn`t focus on us. And then I said...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He Looked a little dehydrated and that he needed some electrolytes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michael Jackson is fine. He was not hospitalized and he was here in court on time, and now he`s on his way home. And hopefully, you know, his dehydration problem will be resolved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: It`s funny that all those press conferences about illnesses, dehydration, back problems, you name it, are always in front of a courthouse. And tonight we hear that Jackson is back -- oh! -- back in the hospital.
Out to you, investigative reporter Jane Velez-Mitchell. Does it have anything to do with at least two lawsuits that I know of pending against Michael Jackson?
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Well, Nancy, that is a very, very good guess. As you mentioned, reports that Michael Jackson has been hospitalized in Las Vegas with pneumonia, and is he very well known for being hospitalized. He was hospitalized many times during his child molestation trial up in Santa Maria. We were all there staked out outside the hospital on many nights. Now, his spokeswoman, Raymone Bain, says in this particular case, she insists, no, he does not have pneumonia and he was not hospitalized.
I have to tell you, though, there have been concerns about his health since he was sued by a Beverly Hills pharmacy back in January. They allege he had accumulated $101,000 in unpaid bills for prescription medications. That suit settled, but it certainly raises the question of what`s the state of his health and why did he need to get that much, $101,000, in prescription medications reportedly over about two years?
GRACE: And Jane Velez-Mitchell, not only is the Mickey Fine pharmacy there in Beverly Hills suing him for over $10,000 in back pay for prescription medication, but also, just filed last month, according to the Associated Press, the family of Manuela Gomez Ruiz, a grandmother age 73 -- her family is suing, claiming that when Michael Jackson got sick with the flu in the middle of his trial and had to go in the hospital, she was moved. She was in a life-threatening situation, and they claim because of that move, she died later on in the afternoon. Remember that, Jane?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, absolutely. We were all there outside the hotel (SIC). I spoke with that lady and that family`s attorney, and they were outraged because, essentially, they accuse the hospital of giving Michael Jackson the star treatment and moving sicker patients so that he could have more room and have a better space during his hospitalization. And this woman ultimately died. This family was totally devastated by that, completely, completely wrecked emotionally.
GRACE: And of course, after the judge in that case issued a warrant for Jackson`s arrest, Michael Jackson miraculously felt much better and showed up for court in his pajamas. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michael Jackson looks like he is clearly in distress. His hair was not combed. He was not wearing his impeccable costumes today. His demeanor seemed to have him listing to the left a little bit, as if he`s having a lower back problem.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michael Jackson arrived at court an hour and 40 minutes late. He was wearing a white collarless shirt, buttoned-down, a very simple black blazer and what appeared to be pajama bottoms.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was one of the two people standing pool here when Michael Jackson came in. And when he came in, we were, oh, 20 feet away. And as he slowly walked by, I said, Mr. Jackson, are you all right? And he looked in our direction but really couldn`t focus or didn`t focus on us. And then I said, Are you OK? And he just slowly moved in. He was clearly in distress, clearly in pain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Well, when you don`t know a horse, Jane Velez-Mitchell, you look at the track record. Remember the big lawsuit with the Israeli businessman after two huge Y2K concerts fizzled? That lawsuit to the tune of $200 million was put on hold when Michael Jackson said he was bitten by a spider and showed up with a giant cast.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.
GRACE: That`s not all. Remember, the first round of child molestation charges that we know of, instead of coming back into the country, he allegedly went into rehab in London. Remember that?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, yes. Absolutely. He was, I believe, on his "Dangerous" tour, aptly named, and he was scheduled to make a stop in Puerto Rico, which, of course, is a commonwealth of the United States, and there was speculation that he was concerned that he could be picked up there. At that point, he announced that he had developed an addiction to painkillers, which he traced back to the mid-`80s, when he was shooting a Pepsi commercial and he burned his scalp and had to have major surgery on his scalp. And he said because of the intense pain of that, he developed an addiction to painkillers. He was flown, I believe with the help of Elizabeth Taylor, to London and went into rehab there.
GRACE: Is that just before -- no, let`s see. That`s after the Pepsi commercial. What about the London rehab when the first child molestation charges came around?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, that`s what happened. In 1993, when he was on that tour, he stopped the tour in progress and said, Hey, I`m an addict. I developed this addiction to pain medication. And he traced it back to about a decade earlier, saying, It all started when I had that Pepsi commercial and I burned my scalp, and ever since then, there`s been so much pain. And he also attributed it to the stress of the allegations that were being leveled against him.
GRACE: The lawsuit. Breaking news tonight. Music icon Michael Jackson, of course, beat the rap on child molestation charges out in California, but tonight reports surface he is in the hospital. With his track record, could a lawsuit be following? Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There have been instances when he`s had to perform on stage, and he was upset about one thing or another, and he would have a panic attack and actually has been hospitalized. I can tell you from my own sources in the Jackson camp that he is very sick right now and has been for quite some time. It is the back. It`s not an exaggeration.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vitiligo is a true condition. It`s not -- it`s not a made-up Michael Jackson fantasy. He was diagnosed with it back in the 1980s. He does have it, and you know, it is an issue in his life.
REV. JESSE JACKSON: Michael is in excruciating pain. He had a terrible fall sometime back, and then another fall in the shower, and he periodically has these back spasms. I am sure that the stress and anxiety of this period is a factor, but his physical pain is real. As we talked and prayed last night, want (ph) to see Michael remissing (ph). But having said that, he is amazingly resolute and strong in his convictions of his innocence, feels a terrible sense of injustice that`s been heaped up on him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK. To you, Brian Oxman, Jackson family attorney. Is the Reverend Jesse Jackson right, or is Jane Velez-Mitchell right? Is it because of this unusual scalp problem or because of back spasms due to falls in the shower, Brian?
BRIAN OXMAN, JACKSON FAMILY ATTORNEY: Jane and Nancy, sometimes people have these health problems and they can`t do much about it. Sometimes they`re caught in their pajamas and sometimes they`re even caught in a sweatshirt when they have to come to the NANCY GRACE show.
(LAUGHTER)
OXMAN: Michael always has these kinds of situations in his life. He`s a trooper. He is there to perform when he needs to be. He has a little case of the flu. His children also have the flu. But he has not been hospitalized and he does not have pneumonia.
GRACE: Now, didn`t you say that last time?
OXMAN: I think that he is doing the very best that he can and he always has.
GRACE: No, no, no. No, I mean you, Brian Oxman. Didn`t you say that last time he went to the hospital?
OXMAN: He did not have a case of pneumonia last time that he went to the hospital. I think you`re referring to the incident in Santa Maria, where he had a case of the flu, and this lawsuit involving the Ortiz (SIC) family has arisen from that. I was there. I`m going to probably be a witness in that particular lawsuit.
GRACE: And what will your testimony be? We are talking about a case filed by the family of a 73-year-old woman. Her name, Manuela Gomez Ruiz. She claims that because Michael Jackson got preferential treatment -- her family does, anyway -- she was shuttled off in the midst of a life- threatening illness, and she, in fact, died after being shuttled around the hospital to help have Michael Jackson have a more comfortable room. What will your testimony be, Brian?
OXMAN: I did not approve of the manner in which the hospital conducted itself in shuttling her around. I think that was inappropriate. But I do know that it was not Michael`s request or anybody on his team. Certainly, it was not my request that they do so.
GRACE: Now, was that the incident during the trial?
OXMAN: This was during the trial. His brother, Randy, came to the hospital. We were very concerned about Michael. He had a case of the flu and he was unable to really breathe well, but he did not have pneumonia on that particular occasion.
GRACE: Now, is that the time he was waving out the window from the hospital room, or is that the time he showed up in his pajamas?
OXMAN: That is the time he was waving from the hospital room.
GRACE: Let`s go to the lines. Out to Maryanne in Pennsylvania. Hi, Maryanne.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, Nancy. Great show. Enjoy watching you.
GRACE: Thank you, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is this. Has anyone ever thought of the possibility that his illness is anorexia? He looks like a person with an eating disorder. Of course, one of his spokespeople said that it was for electrolytes, which is common for that. His clothes always seem to be so big on him, and his face, you can see the bones.
GRACE: Well, you know, Maryanne, that`s an excellent point.
Let`s go out to Dr. Jennifer Shu joining us tonight. Doctor, I don`t know if it`s the anorexia, as Maryanne would suggest, the back ailment, as Reverend Jesse Jackson would suggest, or the flu, or maybe it`s one of these two lawsuits he`s looking at right now. But what about anorexia?
DR. JENNIFER SHU, PEDIATRICIAN: You know, it`s hard to say from just looking at him, Nancy, but if he does have anorexia, his body could be weakened. And that type of weakened immune system could make him more likely to get things like pneumonia or influenza, which is just a really severe virus that can make you feel really crummy, with a high fever, chills, cough, runny nose, headaches and body aches all over.
GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight, Carmen St. George out of the New York jurisdiction, and veteran defense attorney Michael Cardoza joining us out of San Francisco. Welcome, colleagues.
Michael, you know, when I was running a courtroom, on the second time someone had an illness and couldn`t come to court, the judge would demand a doctor`s order. You know, these two lawsuits are pending right now against Michael Jackson. Looking at his track record, what do you think?
MICHAEL CARDOZA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I`ll tell you what, if he`s playing the sick card right now, it`s a little too soon in these lawsuits, so I`m not sure that`s related at all to the lawsuits.
But I do love the one where Ms. Ruiz is suing him for the hospital moving her around. Boy, I`ll tell you what, good luck to them proving that that was the cause that she passed away. They better have some pretty darn good experts to say because the hospital moved her, that caused her death, or at least a part of the causation.
And secondly, what`s she going after Jackson for? That`s like walking into a restaurant and being a big star like you, Nancy, and having somebody, you know, say, A table -- let`s put her there, you people move over here. Come on. You don`t control that.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I haven`t walked in on crutches claiming spider bite. What about that, Carmen? I mean, at a certain point, it`s contempt of court. Have you seen him on crutches with the big -- the big cast on the foot, claiming spider bite in the middle of a multi-million-dollar lawsuit, when he was a no-show at two New Year`s Eve concerts? Spider bite. That was creative.
CARMEN ST. GEORGE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, We were all sitting here when he -- I think it was almost psychosomatic when he was injured during the trial last time. And perhaps this is the onset of it.
I think that the Ruiz family lawsuit is very interesting, though, because it`s filed two years almost after the incident. And I agree, I don`t know why Michael Jackson is a target, other than deep pockets.
GRACE: Other than he may have -- he and his camp may have been the ones to demand certain treatment within a hospital to the detriment of a 73-year-old woman.
CARDOZA: So what?
GRACE: So what? You know what?
CARDOZA: So what if they made demands?
GRACE: You know what? She`s dead. And if they can show a nexus in a courtroom, a jury may believe it.
I want to go out to a shrink joining us tonight, psychoanalyst Bethany Marshall, also author. Bethany, shrink it.
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: OK. Well, your guest just now brought up the fact that it could be psychosomatic. I think perhaps he really does have back pain. Maybe he did have a spider bite. Maybe he does have influenza. Maybe his scalp did get burned. Maybe he does have past drug addiction problems, or current. But the fact is, he uses these in the service of avoidance.
Let`s say if he has to avoid a lawsuit and he`s about to have panic attack, he may actually indulge that panic attack rather than take a Klonapin or a benzodiazepine or something to calm himself down so that he could get to court. And that`s the basis of malingering. The person may have very real symptoms, but they`re using those symptoms in a very manipulative kind of way.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Louis in New Jersey. Hi, Louis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How`re you doing tonight?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could Michael Jackson`s condition be with regard to withdrawal from painkillers?
GRACE: Interesting. You know, Brian Oxman, he did enter -- Brian Oxman, everyone, the Jackson family attorney, long-time Jackson family attorney. He has entered rehab before. He has discussed addiction to prescription painkillers.
OXMAN: Well, Nancy, when we heard about this report that he was hospitalized, the concern became, Oh, my goodness, this is how the Anna Nicole report first came, that she had been taken to the hospital because of some kind of pneumonia. It is a concern that everyone has in this family. We wish Michael to be well. We want him to get to work again. And I think what we`re going to see in the next few months is that he is going to be coming out strong, and he is going to be performing and working, and I hope it`s going to be with the entire family.
GRACE: Well, speaking of that, we have just learned tonight that not only are there reports he`s in a Las Vegas hospital, we also learned that he is kicking off an official tour in Las Vegas, the "Live Forever" tour. That was just announced as we went to air. So Las Vegas seems to be the hotspot for Michael Jackson right now, whether it`s on the stage or in a hospital or the courtroom.
Source: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0703/29/ng.01.html
Michael Jackson Camp Denies Hospitalization Report/North Carolina Day Care Shut After Cops Find Guns and Pot
Aired March 29, 2007 - 20:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight. Music icon Michael Jackson beat the rap on child molestation charges in a California courtroom, but tonight reports indicated Jackson is back in the hospital. Is Jackson`s uncanny track record of entering rehabs and hospitals when it`s time to go to court back in play?
...
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight. First, Michael Jackson in the hospital? Will a courtroom be next?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There have been instances when he`s had to perform on stage and he was upset about one thing or another, and he would have a panic attack and actually (INAUDIBLE) hospitalized. So I can tell from you my own sources in the Jackson camp that he is very sick right now. He was diagnosed with it back in the 1980s. He does have it, and you know (INAUDIBLE)
REV. JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION: He had a terrible fall sometime back, and then another fall in the shower, and he periodically has these back spasms. I am sure that the stress and anxiety of this period is a factor, but his physical pain is real.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Jackson, are you all right? And he looked in our direction, but really couldn`t focus or didn`t focus on us. And then I said...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He Looked a little dehydrated and that he needed some electrolytes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michael Jackson is fine. He was not hospitalized and he was here in court on time, and now he`s on his way home. And hopefully, you know, his dehydration problem will be resolved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: It`s funny that all those press conferences about illnesses, dehydration, back problems, you name it, are always in front of a courthouse. And tonight we hear that Jackson is back -- oh! -- back in the hospital.
Out to you, investigative reporter Jane Velez-Mitchell. Does it have anything to do with at least two lawsuits that I know of pending against Michael Jackson?
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Well, Nancy, that is a very, very good guess. As you mentioned, reports that Michael Jackson has been hospitalized in Las Vegas with pneumonia, and is he very well known for being hospitalized. He was hospitalized many times during his child molestation trial up in Santa Maria. We were all there staked out outside the hospital on many nights. Now, his spokeswoman, Raymone Bain, says in this particular case, she insists, no, he does not have pneumonia and he was not hospitalized.
I have to tell you, though, there have been concerns about his health since he was sued by a Beverly Hills pharmacy back in January. They allege he had accumulated $101,000 in unpaid bills for prescription medications. That suit settled, but it certainly raises the question of what`s the state of his health and why did he need to get that much, $101,000, in prescription medications reportedly over about two years?
GRACE: And Jane Velez-Mitchell, not only is the Mickey Fine pharmacy there in Beverly Hills suing him for over $10,000 in back pay for prescription medication, but also, just filed last month, according to the Associated Press, the family of Manuela Gomez Ruiz, a grandmother age 73 -- her family is suing, claiming that when Michael Jackson got sick with the flu in the middle of his trial and had to go in the hospital, she was moved. She was in a life-threatening situation, and they claim because of that move, she died later on in the afternoon. Remember that, Jane?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, absolutely. We were all there outside the hotel (SIC). I spoke with that lady and that family`s attorney, and they were outraged because, essentially, they accuse the hospital of giving Michael Jackson the star treatment and moving sicker patients so that he could have more room and have a better space during his hospitalization. And this woman ultimately died. This family was totally devastated by that, completely, completely wrecked emotionally.
GRACE: And of course, after the judge in that case issued a warrant for Jackson`s arrest, Michael Jackson miraculously felt much better and showed up for court in his pajamas. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michael Jackson looks like he is clearly in distress. His hair was not combed. He was not wearing his impeccable costumes today. His demeanor seemed to have him listing to the left a little bit, as if he`s having a lower back problem.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michael Jackson arrived at court an hour and 40 minutes late. He was wearing a white collarless shirt, buttoned-down, a very simple black blazer and what appeared to be pajama bottoms.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was one of the two people standing pool here when Michael Jackson came in. And when he came in, we were, oh, 20 feet away. And as he slowly walked by, I said, Mr. Jackson, are you all right? And he looked in our direction but really couldn`t focus or didn`t focus on us. And then I said, Are you OK? And he just slowly moved in. He was clearly in distress, clearly in pain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Well, when you don`t know a horse, Jane Velez-Mitchell, you look at the track record. Remember the big lawsuit with the Israeli businessman after two huge Y2K concerts fizzled? That lawsuit to the tune of $200 million was put on hold when Michael Jackson said he was bitten by a spider and showed up with a giant cast.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.
GRACE: That`s not all. Remember, the first round of child molestation charges that we know of, instead of coming back into the country, he allegedly went into rehab in London. Remember that?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, yes. Absolutely. He was, I believe, on his "Dangerous" tour, aptly named, and he was scheduled to make a stop in Puerto Rico, which, of course, is a commonwealth of the United States, and there was speculation that he was concerned that he could be picked up there. At that point, he announced that he had developed an addiction to painkillers, which he traced back to the mid-`80s, when he was shooting a Pepsi commercial and he burned his scalp and had to have major surgery on his scalp. And he said because of the intense pain of that, he developed an addiction to painkillers. He was flown, I believe with the help of Elizabeth Taylor, to London and went into rehab there.
GRACE: Is that just before -- no, let`s see. That`s after the Pepsi commercial. What about the London rehab when the first child molestation charges came around?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, that`s what happened. In 1993, when he was on that tour, he stopped the tour in progress and said, Hey, I`m an addict. I developed this addiction to pain medication. And he traced it back to about a decade earlier, saying, It all started when I had that Pepsi commercial and I burned my scalp, and ever since then, there`s been so much pain. And he also attributed it to the stress of the allegations that were being leveled against him.
GRACE: The lawsuit. Breaking news tonight. Music icon Michael Jackson, of course, beat the rap on child molestation charges out in California, but tonight reports surface he is in the hospital. With his track record, could a lawsuit be following? Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There have been instances when he`s had to perform on stage, and he was upset about one thing or another, and he would have a panic attack and actually has been hospitalized. I can tell you from my own sources in the Jackson camp that he is very sick right now and has been for quite some time. It is the back. It`s not an exaggeration.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vitiligo is a true condition. It`s not -- it`s not a made-up Michael Jackson fantasy. He was diagnosed with it back in the 1980s. He does have it, and you know, it is an issue in his life.
REV. JESSE JACKSON: Michael is in excruciating pain. He had a terrible fall sometime back, and then another fall in the shower, and he periodically has these back spasms. I am sure that the stress and anxiety of this period is a factor, but his physical pain is real. As we talked and prayed last night, want (ph) to see Michael remissing (ph). But having said that, he is amazingly resolute and strong in his convictions of his innocence, feels a terrible sense of injustice that`s been heaped up on him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK. To you, Brian Oxman, Jackson family attorney. Is the Reverend Jesse Jackson right, or is Jane Velez-Mitchell right? Is it because of this unusual scalp problem or because of back spasms due to falls in the shower, Brian?
BRIAN OXMAN, JACKSON FAMILY ATTORNEY: Jane and Nancy, sometimes people have these health problems and they can`t do much about it. Sometimes they`re caught in their pajamas and sometimes they`re even caught in a sweatshirt when they have to come to the NANCY GRACE show.
(LAUGHTER)
OXMAN: Michael always has these kinds of situations in his life. He`s a trooper. He is there to perform when he needs to be. He has a little case of the flu. His children also have the flu. But he has not been hospitalized and he does not have pneumonia.
GRACE: Now, didn`t you say that last time?
OXMAN: I think that he is doing the very best that he can and he always has.
GRACE: No, no, no. No, I mean you, Brian Oxman. Didn`t you say that last time he went to the hospital?
OXMAN: He did not have a case of pneumonia last time that he went to the hospital. I think you`re referring to the incident in Santa Maria, where he had a case of the flu, and this lawsuit involving the Ortiz (SIC) family has arisen from that. I was there. I`m going to probably be a witness in that particular lawsuit.
GRACE: And what will your testimony be? We are talking about a case filed by the family of a 73-year-old woman. Her name, Manuela Gomez Ruiz. She claims that because Michael Jackson got preferential treatment -- her family does, anyway -- she was shuttled off in the midst of a life- threatening illness, and she, in fact, died after being shuttled around the hospital to help have Michael Jackson have a more comfortable room. What will your testimony be, Brian?
OXMAN: I did not approve of the manner in which the hospital conducted itself in shuttling her around. I think that was inappropriate. But I do know that it was not Michael`s request or anybody on his team. Certainly, it was not my request that they do so.
GRACE: Now, was that the incident during the trial?
OXMAN: This was during the trial. His brother, Randy, came to the hospital. We were very concerned about Michael. He had a case of the flu and he was unable to really breathe well, but he did not have pneumonia on that particular occasion.
GRACE: Now, is that the time he was waving out the window from the hospital room, or is that the time he showed up in his pajamas?
OXMAN: That is the time he was waving from the hospital room.
GRACE: Let`s go to the lines. Out to Maryanne in Pennsylvania. Hi, Maryanne.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, Nancy. Great show. Enjoy watching you.
GRACE: Thank you, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is this. Has anyone ever thought of the possibility that his illness is anorexia? He looks like a person with an eating disorder. Of course, one of his spokespeople said that it was for electrolytes, which is common for that. His clothes always seem to be so big on him, and his face, you can see the bones.
GRACE: Well, you know, Maryanne, that`s an excellent point.
Let`s go out to Dr. Jennifer Shu joining us tonight. Doctor, I don`t know if it`s the anorexia, as Maryanne would suggest, the back ailment, as Reverend Jesse Jackson would suggest, or the flu, or maybe it`s one of these two lawsuits he`s looking at right now. But what about anorexia?
DR. JENNIFER SHU, PEDIATRICIAN: You know, it`s hard to say from just looking at him, Nancy, but if he does have anorexia, his body could be weakened. And that type of weakened immune system could make him more likely to get things like pneumonia or influenza, which is just a really severe virus that can make you feel really crummy, with a high fever, chills, cough, runny nose, headaches and body aches all over.
GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight, Carmen St. George out of the New York jurisdiction, and veteran defense attorney Michael Cardoza joining us out of San Francisco. Welcome, colleagues.
Michael, you know, when I was running a courtroom, on the second time someone had an illness and couldn`t come to court, the judge would demand a doctor`s order. You know, these two lawsuits are pending right now against Michael Jackson. Looking at his track record, what do you think?
MICHAEL CARDOZA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I`ll tell you what, if he`s playing the sick card right now, it`s a little too soon in these lawsuits, so I`m not sure that`s related at all to the lawsuits.
But I do love the one where Ms. Ruiz is suing him for the hospital moving her around. Boy, I`ll tell you what, good luck to them proving that that was the cause that she passed away. They better have some pretty darn good experts to say because the hospital moved her, that caused her death, or at least a part of the causation.
And secondly, what`s she going after Jackson for? That`s like walking into a restaurant and being a big star like you, Nancy, and having somebody, you know, say, A table -- let`s put her there, you people move over here. Come on. You don`t control that.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I haven`t walked in on crutches claiming spider bite. What about that, Carmen? I mean, at a certain point, it`s contempt of court. Have you seen him on crutches with the big -- the big cast on the foot, claiming spider bite in the middle of a multi-million-dollar lawsuit, when he was a no-show at two New Year`s Eve concerts? Spider bite. That was creative.
CARMEN ST. GEORGE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, We were all sitting here when he -- I think it was almost psychosomatic when he was injured during the trial last time. And perhaps this is the onset of it.
I think that the Ruiz family lawsuit is very interesting, though, because it`s filed two years almost after the incident. And I agree, I don`t know why Michael Jackson is a target, other than deep pockets.
GRACE: Other than he may have -- he and his camp may have been the ones to demand certain treatment within a hospital to the detriment of a 73-year-old woman.
CARDOZA: So what?
GRACE: So what? You know what?
CARDOZA: So what if they made demands?
GRACE: You know what? She`s dead. And if they can show a nexus in a courtroom, a jury may believe it.
I want to go out to a shrink joining us tonight, psychoanalyst Bethany Marshall, also author. Bethany, shrink it.
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: OK. Well, your guest just now brought up the fact that it could be psychosomatic. I think perhaps he really does have back pain. Maybe he did have a spider bite. Maybe he does have influenza. Maybe his scalp did get burned. Maybe he does have past drug addiction problems, or current. But the fact is, he uses these in the service of avoidance.
Let`s say if he has to avoid a lawsuit and he`s about to have panic attack, he may actually indulge that panic attack rather than take a Klonapin or a benzodiazepine or something to calm himself down so that he could get to court. And that`s the basis of malingering. The person may have very real symptoms, but they`re using those symptoms in a very manipulative kind of way.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Louis in New Jersey. Hi, Louis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How`re you doing tonight?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could Michael Jackson`s condition be with regard to withdrawal from painkillers?
GRACE: Interesting. You know, Brian Oxman, he did enter -- Brian Oxman, everyone, the Jackson family attorney, long-time Jackson family attorney. He has entered rehab before. He has discussed addiction to prescription painkillers.
OXMAN: Well, Nancy, when we heard about this report that he was hospitalized, the concern became, Oh, my goodness, this is how the Anna Nicole report first came, that she had been taken to the hospital because of some kind of pneumonia. It is a concern that everyone has in this family. We wish Michael to be well. We want him to get to work again. And I think what we`re going to see in the next few months is that he is going to be coming out strong, and he is going to be performing and working, and I hope it`s going to be with the entire family.
GRACE: Well, speaking of that, we have just learned tonight that not only are there reports he`s in a Las Vegas hospital, we also learned that he is kicking off an official tour in Las Vegas, the "Live Forever" tour. That was just announced as we went to air. So Las Vegas seems to be the hotspot for Michael Jackson right now, whether it`s on the stage or in a hospital or the courtroom.
Source: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0703/29/ng.01.html
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