AEG Court Session 16: Michael Jackson’s Company Lawyer Called Him ‘Unusual’
Most of Wednesday’s session was devoted to Q&A with the company’s legal team, but Brian Panish, Catherine Jackson’s lawyer, was given fifteen minutes at the end of the session to show some other emails exchanged between company employees on the court monitors. In these emails—exchanged between Shawn Trell, AEG’s senior attorney and his boss—Michael Jackson was described using words like “unusual” or “weird (oddball).”
The emails were sent on January 28—before a meeting at Michael Jackson’s home to sign the contract.
In an email, Paul Gongwer asked Randy Phillips: “Is today’s MJ schedule still on?” Phillips replied: “Yes, 5 p.m., 100 Carolwood. Doctor, you and Shawn (Trell) have to be there.” Shawn Trell, AEG’s senior attorney, forwarded this email to his superior, Ted Fiker, one of the senior lawyers at AEG’s parent company. Two minutes later, Fiker replied to the subordinate employee:
“So that means you’re going to meet that oddball?”
Trell responded: “Apparently, yes. I don’t know what I should feel. It’s definitely going to be interesting, but it’s kind of nerve-racking.”
Trell then went to Michael’s home to get his signature. Michael ultimately met the lawyer with utmost politeness: he stood up in front of him, greeted him at the door, warmly shook his hand, welcomed him, and finally introduced his humility to him. Trell had described Michael Jackson in court yesterday:
“He stood up, came close to me, introduced himself. Very friendly but polite. He had very good energy. Very positive energy filled the room. He truly seemed eager. He had the contract in front of him. He read all the pages. He was very excited.”
After these emails were shown, Shawn Trell—asked to the stand for the third time—was criticized and scolded by Brian Panish for the second time.
“Did your mother ever teach you that if you don’t have anything good to say about someone, you shouldn’t say anything at all?”
“Did Mr. Fiker tell you that Michael Jackson is an unusual and weird person?”
“Is company policy to speak with ugly words about the artists they are going to sign major contracts with?”
“So your lawyers have such respect for artists that they call them unusual?”
In response, Shawn Trell said he should ask Ted Fiker about it. He also added: “Maybe I don’t necessarily agree with some of Michael’s choices in his life, but I have special respect for him as an artist.”
When Panish asked whether he had informed the company’s CEO about this insult, he said no.
Outside court, Panish told reporters: “These emails are only an example showing what kind of attitude AEG had toward an artist. The emails show that the company had no respect at all for Michael Jackson and viewed him only as a tool to make profit, so they could get ahead of their competitor Live Nation.” He said he would show more insulting emails. The company’s lawyers described Panish’s action as nothing more than a tool to damage the character of their employees.
Source: eMJey.com / AP