Michael Jackson was looking forward to his London comeback gigs — but his close pal David Gest believes the pressure of the concerts killed him.
The star was due to begin a series of performances with an appearance at London’s O2 arena on July 13.
But Jackson, 50, died Thursday after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles.
“Michael told me he was excited about getting back on stage,” Gest told British newspaper The Sun. “I told him I was proud of him. But I really believe in my heart of hearts that the pressure of those concerts killed Michael.
“He thought there were going to be ten dates as announced. But then all of a sudden Tohme, along with Randy Phillips, president of organizers AEG, had arranged 20, 30 then 50 dates.
“Michael was being told, ‘You are going to set the world record for concerts at the O2, you are going to beat Prince’s record.’
“They knew how to feed into his ego. But when Michael realized his schedule, he began to panic. It was one show after another, with hardly any days off. He should never have been tied to so many, especially a guy who dances through more than half of his set.
“They should have realized doing a concert one day on, one day off, would be tough for any performer, let alone someone who hadn’t been on stage for nine years. It was ridiculous.
“Michael was working his ass off for eight hours a day to prepare, the schedule didn’t allow him proper time to rest.”
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