Michael Jackson’s family lawyer, Brian Panish, brought up celebrities like Tiger Woods and Alex Rodriguez in the wrongful death trial involving AEG to prove that it’s possible for a comeback after a media scandal.
What Panish was trying to prove is that Jackson’s 2005 sexual molestation scandal would not have affected his This Is It tour, in fact they were expecting it to gross $1 billion.
“Let’s talk about A-Rod. Have there been allegations against Mr. Rodriguez about certain activities?” Panish asked Arthur Erk, a Manhattan accountant.
“They’re still coming about, surfacing every once in a while,” said Erk, referring to the steroid use allegations against A-Rod, NY Daily News reports.
Panish asked, “How is he doing?” to which Erk replied, “At least according to media reports, he’s still doing fairly well.”
According to The State, AEG lawyer Sabrina Storm fought the projections that Jackson’s comeback tour could’ve made over $1 billion, saying that factors like his spending history need to be taken into consideration.
But Erk stood firm in his estimation, saying “It wasn't a matter of history. This was going to be a final extravaganza. He was going to do a blowout tour, he would have earned a lot of money."
image: Wikimedia Commons
