Dermatologist denies he gave Jackson sedatives to use

MICHAEL JACKSON’S dermatologist said he had sedated the pop star in the past for painful medical procedures but had never given him dangerous sedatives like Propofol to use.

“I was not one of the doctors who participated in giving him overdoses of drugs or too much of anything,” Dr Arnold Klein said in an interview yesterday. “In fact, I was the one who limited everything, who stopped everything.”

Investigators looking into the cause of Jackson’s death have homed in on drugs that were administered to the insomniac musician. The powerful sedative Diprivan, also known as Propofol and usually administered by anesthesiologists in hospitals, was found in Jackson’s home, according to a law enforcement official.

Any drugs he used with Jackson were on very mild levels, Klein said. “How am I going to prescribe Diprivan when I don’t know how to use it?” he said.

Klein said he saw Jackson three days before he died on June 25.

In response to rumours that the musician was dangerously thin at the time of his death, Klein said he saw nothing to make him worry.

“He danced in my office,” he said. “He danced for my patients.”

Klein also said that Jackson was “at the hands of plastic surgeons who didn’t know when to stop” and that the singer viewed his face as a piece of art.

Still, Klein said he was always concerned about Jackson because he knew that whatever he wanted, he could always find someone to give it to him.

The saga surrounding Jackson’s death will continue past the memorial service in Los Angeles.

Despite the presence of stars like Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey and basketballer Kobe Bryant, the emotional speech by Jackson’s 11-year-old daughter, Paris-Michael, was the memorial’s most heart-tugging moment.

“Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father I could imagine,” Paris-Michael said, dissolving into tears and turning into the arms of her aunt Janet Jackson. “I just want to say I love him so much.”

In his 2002 will, Jackson made his wishes clear — his three children should remain under the care of his mother, Katherine.

Debbie Rowe, the biological mother of Paris-Michael and her 12-year-old brother, Prince Michael, has indicated she may seek custody. The surrogate mother of Jackson’s youngest child, 7-year-old Prince Michael II, is unknown.

A custody hearing is scheduled for next Monday.

Authorities have released his death certificate, which did not list a cause of death. The official determination will likely wait until toxicology results are completed, which could be weeks away.

Assistant chief coroner Ed Winter said Jackson’s brain, or at least part of it, was still being held by investigators and would be returned to the family for interment once neuropathology tests were completed.

Jackson’s final resting place was another unknown. Permission is needed to bury him at his former home, Neverland Ranch. A private memorial was held at a cemetery in the Hollywood Hills that is the resting place of many stars, but it does not appear Jackson will be buried among them.

Then there’s the fact Jackson died deeply in debt, but left an estate potentially worth $500 million (€361m) and his enduring star power with its tremendous earning potential.