In the final weeks of his life, Michael Jackson was consumed by an untreated sleep disorder so severe it pushed him toward dangerous sedation, and ultimately, tragedy.
As revealed by his former lawyer and longtime friend John Mason, the King of Pop was beyond exhausted, both physically and mentally, while preparing for his massive “This Is It” residency at London’s O2 Arena. The shows, set to run from July 2009 to March 2010, never happened. Instead, Jackson died on June 25, 2009, from a cardiac arrest caused by a fatal mix of sedatives and propofol. He was just 50.
In his new book Crazy Lucky: Remarkable Stories from Inside the World of Celebrity Icons, Mason writes that Jackson was “desperate for sleep” and overwhelmed by pressure. “I can’t function if I don’t sleep. They’ll have to cancel it. And I don’t want them to cancel it,” Jackson reportedly told Mason shortly before his death.
By that point, Jackson was drowning in financial trouble and under intense pressure to deliver. He was rehearsing for what was supposed to be his big comeback, but those close to him say he was clearly declining.
Choreographer Toni Basil, who worked with Jackson during rehearsals, described the toll on his body. “He had stopped performing for six years, and suddenly he was back dancing and singing for hours a day. It was killing him,” she said in a 2021 podcast.
Mason recalls receiving a call in 2009 saying Jackson had collapsed during a rehearsal but returned to work the next day. “Michael was Michael,” Mason said, referring to Jackson’s unstoppable drive, even when his health was failing.
AEG Live, the promoter behind the tour, hired Dr. Conrad Murray to manage Jackson’s insomnia. Jackson had become reliant on propofol – a drug meant for surgery sedation – to help him sleep. According to court records, on the morning of Jackson’s death, Murray gave him multiple doses of sedatives starting at 1:30 am, including Valium, Lorazepam, and Midazolam. At 10:40 am, he administered 25 mg of propofol. Jackson never woke up.
Dr. Murray was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 and served two years of a four-year sentence.
By mid-June, Jackson’s behavior had become erratic. People close to him noticed paranoia, anxiety, and obsessive habits. He was said to be completely fixated on making the tour a success, despite the toll it was taking.
In the end, it was the quest for sleep – and the pressure to perform – that cost him everything. The Michael Jackson sleep deprivation crisis wasn’t just a medical issue; it was the result of pushing a legendary performer beyond his breaking point.
