Lionel Richie: We had made a vow
Lionel Richie says the untimely death of Whitney Houston—the female singer—reminded him of his dear friend, Michael Jackson.
Whitney died late last month from drowning in the bathtub at the hotel where she was staying. That same night, she was supposed to be honored at the Clive Davis celebration before the Grammy Awards ceremony.
In an interview with Access Hollywood, Lionel Richie said that when he and Michael were pursuing their solo careers in the 1980s, they made a pact to stay away from drugs. 
"I watched this happen to my dear friend, Michael. Michael and I talked about the same issue (drug addiction) and we vowed that we would never bring drugs into our lives and get into trouble, because we had seen many artists fall into the trap of addiction. But the moment his hair caught fire during the filming of the Pepsi commercial (1984), everything changed."
Michael received a $1.5 million payout from Pepsi, which he used to set up a burn treatment center at the Brotman Hospital in Los Angeles.
Although Michael stayed away from drugs, the Pepsi incident trapped him in painkillers. Due to his severe burns, he underwent many surgeries on his head, which forced him to use prescription painkillers—and this continued for years. Many believe that this incident was the beginning of his dependence on sedative drugs.
After his death, forensic tests found no narcotics in Michael’s body and announced the cause of death as cardiac arrest resulting from an overdose of the anesthetic propofol. Propofol, as an unusual, dangerous, and incorrect treatment for severe insomnia, was used for Michael. Conrad Murray, his doctor, is currently in prison for his involuntary manslaughter conviction. He said that on the night of Michael’s death, he injected him with a combination of several sleeping pills and painkillers, including Xanax and Valium.
Forensics has recently released the results of Whitney Houston’s autopsy. She suffered cardiac arrest due to cocaine use and died by drowning in the bathtub. Other substances and drugs were also found in her body, including marijuana, as well as the anti-anxiety drug Xanax—which had also been found in Michael’s body.
Source: eMJey.com / Access Hollywood
"I watched this happen to my dear friend, Michael. Michael and I talked about the same issue (drug addiction) and we vowed that we would never bring drugs into our lives and get into trouble, because we had seen many artists fall into the trap of addiction. But the moment his hair caught fire during the filming of the Pepsi commercial (1984), everything changed."
Michael received a $1.5 million payout from Pepsi, which he used to set up a burn treatment center at the Brotman Hospital in Los Angeles.
Although Michael stayed away from drugs, the Pepsi incident trapped him in painkillers. Due to his severe burns, he underwent many surgeries on his head, which forced him to use prescription painkillers—and this continued for years. Many believe that this incident was the beginning of his dependence on sedative drugs.
After his death, forensic tests found no narcotics in Michael’s body and announced the cause of death as cardiac arrest resulting from an overdose of the anesthetic propofol. Propofol, as an unusual, dangerous, and incorrect treatment for severe insomnia, was used for Michael. Conrad Murray, his doctor, is currently in prison for his involuntary manslaughter conviction. He said that on the night of Michael’s death, he injected him with a combination of several sleeping pills and painkillers, including Xanax and Valium.
Forensics has recently released the results of Whitney Houston’s autopsy. She suffered cardiac arrest due to cocaine use and died by drowning in the bathtub. Other substances and drugs were also found in her body, including marijuana, as well as the anti-anxiety drug Xanax—which had also been found in Michael’s body.
Source: eMJey.com / Access Hollywood