Did Michael Jackson really look like a hospice patient?

Michael Jackson March 2009

Michael Jackson 1994

The first witness to testify in the Michael Jackson wrongful death lawsuit trial was a paramedic who responded to a 911 call at Michael's rented Carolwood home in June 2009.

Paramedic Richard Senneff testified Tuesday that Michael most likely died before the ambulance crew arrived on the scene three minutes after getting the emergency call.

Senneff described Michael as resembling someone who was suffering from a long-term “chronic” disease. 

“The patient looked very pale, very, very underweight.  I could see his ribs.  To me, he looked like someone who was at the end-stage of a long disease process,” Senneff testified.

This is the same testimony that Senneff gave at the Conrad Murray trial in 2011.

My view is also that Michael was very underweight by June 2009.

I know a lot of fans disagree with my view, but I'll explain my reasoning below.

Firstly, I have been a fan of Michael since 1973, and have seen photos of Michael as he grew from a skinny teenager into a slim adult. He was always slim. I know that.

Secondly, I spent many many years in and around the world of classical ballet dancers. Classical dancers are expected to be underweight their entire working life. I've stood next to hundreds and hundreds of dancers in class, when they are wearing only a leotard and tights, and spent time with them outside the theater. So I know what a healthy professional dancer body looks like.

I also know that a dancer can lose a lot of weight, if they are performing a demanding dance role regularly over a period of weeks. It's something they have to watch out for and accommodate, so that they do not lose too much weight and lose their strength and stamina along with it.

Watching rehearsal footage from 24th June 2009 in the 'This Is It' film, it immediately struck me that at times Michael looked very thin and seemed to try and conserve his energy between songs. This starkly contrasts with footage of Michael rehearsing 10 years or so prior, where he is constantly on the move, even between songs, and is running all over the stage.  My knowledge of dancers and my experience of sitting in ballet rehearsals told me that Michael was in no fit state to start a series of concerts. I might have expected him to be thin and tired some weeks or months into the shows, but not before the shows had begun.

I selected the two photos of Michael above, as he is wearing similar outfits, but I think you can see that his hips and legs are a lot thinner in 2009. 

I read that Michael's waist measurement in the 1980s was 32". 

In 2009 it was 28". 

His weight was 136lbs in 2009. I've checked some height/weight tables specifically for men, and they say that man of 5'9" should be between 142 and 176lbs, depending on their frame, so Michael was definitely underweight.

Check out these videos of Michael rehearsing 'Billie Jean' from 1992 and 2009 and see the difference for yourself.