Michael Jackson had very few friends, but it seems that one of his closest may have played a crucial part in his addiction.
According to an explosive new report from The Daily Beast, Elizabeth Taylor had a role in his early dependencies, as the star introduced Jackson to dermatologist Arnold Klein.
When Jackson began seeing Dr. Klein, Taylor was battling her own presciption drug and alcohol problem. She was seeing several doctors, one allegedly being Klein, to prescribe drugs such as Ativan, a tranquilizer, and Dilaudid, a powerful opiate dubbed “the Bentley of heroin.”
This was around the time Michael began using the same pain and sleeping pills as Taylor.
Due to treatment for alleged vitiligo (which causes depigmentation and patchiness in the skin) and residual pain from his 1984 accident in which his hair caught on fire while shooting a Pepsi ad, Dr. Klein reportedly provided Jackson with drugs to ease the inflictions, which began to snowball into full-fledged addiction.
Jackson was twice warned by confidantes that his relationship with Taylor was dangerous because she fed his dependencies. Taylor was said to never encouraged Michael to get clean because she faced the same struggles.
During each confrontation Michael would abruptly cut off any discussion.
Taylor and Jackson were not only patients of Dr. Klein but close friends!!!!!
When Liz celebrated her birthday in 1999 at Las Vegas’ Bellagio Hotel, Klein was one of only six people invited.
The trio still socialized until recently.
Just a few months ago, Jackson visited Dr. Klein’s Beverly Hills office two or three times a week, staying anywhere from 30 minutes to five hours. The only other person that Jackson regularly visited was Elizabeth Taylor. He reportedly saw her four to five times a week for hours at a time.
A Los Angeles Police rep will not confirm or deny whether Arnold Klein is one of the five physicians being investigated in the death of Michael Jackson.
Sad. Sad. Sad.
[Image via WENN.]