Kenny Ortega, the director who was set to work with Michael Jackson on the ill-fated This Is It shows, gave emotional testimony on Wednesday, revealing that the late King of Pop's condition 'frightened' him during rehearsals.

Jackson and Ortega were rehearsing for the tour in the days before Jackson died in June 2009. He said that the “Thriller” singer's appearance was “very, very troubling.” Ortega added, “I saw a Michael that frightened me.”

According to Rolling Stone, Wednesday was Ortega's third day on the stand during the trial in Katherine Jackson's wrongful death lawsuit against concert promoter AEG. Jackson's mother is suing the company for $40 billion, claiming that they showed negligence by hiring Dr. Conrad Murray. The doctor was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, as he had administered the lethal dose of propofol.

CNN reports that Ortega also read an email he wrote just before Jackson died. “He was like a lost boy,” Ortega read. “There still may be a chance he can rise to the occasion if we get him the help he needs.” He later asked for a moment from the judge, saying “I'm not OK right now.” The judge gave him a moment in the jury room before he resumed his testimony.

Ortega wrote the email to AEG co-CEO Paul Gongaware, telling him that he believed the tour was a bad idea. “Were you aware that MJ's Doctor didn't permit him to attend rehearsals yesterday?” Ortega wrote after Jackson missed a rehearsal and performed badly the day before. “Are Randy and Frank (DiLeo, another Jackson manager) aware of this? Please have them stay on top of his health situation without invading MJ's privacy. It might be a good idea to talk with his Doctor to make sure everything MJ requires is in place.”

He also claimed that AEG Live executives had told him that they put Murray in charge of making sure Jackson made it to rehearsals. He said he was told to contact Murray if there were problems.

“I was told he was creating the schedule and the schedule wasn't working,” Ortega said. “[Murray] was my lifeline, so to speak.”

When Jackson finally showed up for rehearsal on June 19, he was “shivering and cold,” Ortega said. He later said that this was the same day he decided it would be best to put a stop to an attempt to bring Jackson back on the stage.

The wrongful death suit began back in April and isn't expected to end until the end of the month.

image: YouTube