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Trial update

THE HEAT IS ON: Karen Faye, who did Michael Jackson's makeup and hair for 27 years, was the sixth witness called by lawyers for the Jackson Family in their wrongful death lawsuit against AEG Live. Faye said she was concerned when she first saw the schedule for Jackson's 50 This Is It shows at London's O2 arena. "On looking at that, I said, 'He can't do this,'" she testified. "Michael's adrenaline and what it takes for him to perform with that much effort and what he himself puts into a show, he needed a lot more time to at least get some rest and sleep, and to be healthy and maintain that kind of longevity." In Jackson's last days, Faye said she was pressured to ignore what Jackson told her to do and instead take her direction from AEG Live boss Randy Phillips. "I was supposed to exhibit tough love" and not listen to what Jackson was telling her to do, Faye testified. At one point, Jackson locked himself in a bathroom at his home, refusing to leave for rehearsals at the Forum. AEG Live Co-CEO Paul Gongaware, who was in charge of the production, was "angry and kind of desperate to get Michael to the Forum," she said. She overheard a phone call in which Gongaware was telling Jackson's security guard "to get him out of the bathroom. Do you have a key? Do whatever it takes," she said Gongaware screamed. Faye said she raised her concerns once in June with Phillips. He told her, "Yeah, this is bad. It's not so good. I had to scrape Michael off the floor in London at the announcement because he was so drunk," she said. Faye testified that Phillips told her at Jackson's funeral that "he tried to do everything he could." Did she believe him, asked Jackson lawyer Brian Panish. "Sir, Michael Jackson is lying in a casket only a few feet away from me," she said. "I had no words to respond. That's not everything you can do." Faye will return to the stand today. (5/10a)

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