Dr. Murray's Defense - Jackson Killed Himself

http://www.tmz.com/2010/04/05/michael-jackson-dr-conrad-murray-propofol-death-cause-iv-addict-overdose-heart-legal-defense/

Dr. Murray's Defense - Jackson Killed Himself
Posted Apr 5th 2010

TMZ has learned Dr. Conrad Murray's legal defense is that Michael Jackson gave himself the fatal dose of Propofol.

Multiple sources familiar with the strategy tell TMZ the defense argument goes like this:

- At around 10:50 AM, Dr. Murray gave Jackson 25 mg of Propofol from a 20 ml bottle -- that's only about 1/8 of the bottle.

- The dose Dr. Murray administered would keep someone asleep for only 5 to 10 minutes, but the Propofol, along with the Ativan and Versed that was already in MJ's system, had a synergistic effect that put Jackson to sleep for a longer period of time.

- For the next hour, Dr. Murray stayed in the room and was on the phone for much of the time. Dr. Murray didn't leave the room to make the calls because MJ liked activity in the room, regularly sleeping with the lights on and cartoons blaring on the TV.

- At around noon, Dr. Murray left the room for approximately two minutes to go to the bathroom. While he was gone, the defense believes Jackson suddenly awakened and was frustrated he had spent nearly 9 hours trying in vain to sleep. The defense theory -- Jackson took the 20 ml bottle of Propofol and self-injected the remaining contents through the IV, causing a massive overdose that stopped his heart.

- Dr. Murray walked back in the room and saw Jackson with his eyes open and pupils dilated. Dr. Murray dropped the phone (he was speaking with his girlfriend) and began administering CPR.

The defense will argue Michael Jackson was a long-time Propofol addict -- something TMZ first reported shortly after the singer's death. As one source said, Jackson liked the sensation of Propofol being administered by IV, adding, "Michael liked to push it."

L.A. County Coroner's investigators took a picture in the room, showing an empty Propofol bottle on the floor, underneath the nightstand by Jackson's bed. The defense will argue Jackson grabbed the bottle from the nightstand, injected himself and then dropped the bottle.

Remember, law enforcement believes Dr. Murray hid bottles of Propofol before paramedics arrived. The defense will argue ... if Dr. Murray was really hiding Propofol, he would have removed the empty bottle under the nightstand that caused Jackson's death.

Ed Chernoff, Murray's attorney, could not be reached for comment.

Marge Simpson -- Playboy Cover Girl

http://www.tmz.com/2009/10/09/marge-simpson-strips-down-for-playboy/

Marge Simpson -- Playboy Cover Girl
Oct 9th 2009

This is the closest you'll ever get to finding out if the carpet really does match the blue drapes.

TMZ has obtained the cover for Marge Simpson's November issue of Playboy -- and needless to say, she's got a bangin' bod for having popped her first kid out thirty years ago (Show debuted in 1989, Bart was 10 ... and still is).

We're told Marge also strips down for her three-page spread inside the magazine -- posing in a bunch of sexy cartoon lingerie.

Roll over, Jessica Rabbit.

Propofol Killed Michael Jackson

http://www.popeater.com/2009/08/24/documents-propofol-killed-michael-jackson/

Propofol Killed Michael Jackson; Death Reportedly Ruled a Homicide
Monday 24 August

Lethal doses of the powerful anesthetic propofol caused the death of Michael Jackson, according to newly unsealed legal documents. Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray said the King of Pop Jackson was suffering from insomnia, and that he had been giving Jackson 50 milligrams of propofol nightly.

Also, an Associated Press source says the Los Angeles County coroner has ruled Jackson's death a homicide.

The Jackson family released a statement Monday afternoon commending the authorities on their hard work. "The Jackson family has full confidence in the legal process, and commends the ongoing efforts of the L.A. County Coroner, the L.A. District Attorney and the L.A. Police Department," the statement said. "The family looks forward to the day that justice can be served."

Murray, who has been at the center of the investigation into Jackson's death, says he dropped the dosage because he feared Jackson was forming an addiction.

He then gave Jackson 25 milligrams of propofol mixed with other sedatives. On June 25, Murray says he gave Jackson valium, lorazepam, midazolam and other drugs. When Jackson still wasn't able to sleep, Murray gave him 25 milligrams of Propofol after Jackson demanded it.

According to the unsealed documents, Murray told police that Jackson was medicated when he left to make phone calls to family members, but was not breathing upon his return. He performed CPR on Jackson, who was rushed to UCLA Medical Center where he was declared dead.

An Associated Press law enforcement claims the death has already been ruled a homicide, reporting the coroner determined a fatal combination of drugs was given to Jackson, causing his death. The AP reports that Murray is already the target of a manslaughter investigation by the LAPD.

According to TMZ, Murray reported Jackson wasn't breathing at around 11 AM, but a 911 call wasn't made until 12:21. Murray made 3 separate calls from 11:18 to 12:05 according to the documents. Murray also refused to sign the death certificate at the UCLA Medical Center, TMZ is reporting.

Authorities said they could find no evidence that Murray ordered or obtained the drugs under his medical license or DEA tracking number. Police did spot at least eight bottles of propofol in the house along with other prescription drugs prescribed to Jackson by Dr. Murray, Dr. Arnold Klein and Dr. Allan Metzger.

Other drugs confiscated in the search of Jackson's house include Clonazepam, Lorazepam, Lorazepam, Tamsulosin, Temazepam, Tizanidine, Trazodone and Valium.

The investigation of Murray's involvement has focused on whether he was negligent in giving Jackson the drug to Jackson outside a hospital setting and whether that justifies an involuntary manslaughter charge.

Last week, Murray released a video in which he claimed he "told the truth and I have faith the truth will prevail."

Leighton Meester sex tape being shopped - report

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/06/19/2009-06-19_leighton_meester_sex_tape_being_shopped_around__report_gossip_girl_caught_on_vid.html

Leighton Meester sex tape being shopped - report; 'Gossip Girl' caught on video with boyfriend?
Friday, June 19th 2009

Poor Leighton Meester. She never seems to get quite as much attention as her blithe blond goddess costar Blake Lively.

That may be about to change - for all the wrong reasons.

TMZ.com is reporting that a videotape of Meester having sex with her boyfriend is making the rounds in the celebrity sex tape marketplace.

The alleged video was made a few years ago and shows Meester in her birthday suit. Nothing kinky, except perhaps a little fancy footwork on the ingenue's part, according to TMZ.

The Web site says a company called celebhotline.com is trying to get it's hands on the tape.

It's spokesperson Kevin Blatt told TMZ, "We've seen the tape and we're hoping to close the deal."

Topless Photos of Britney Spears

Britney may no longer be the Queen of Pop after a decade run, but any story involving her and her breasts will still be newsworthy in The Konformist book. The following pics are from TMZ.com, though they were originally found on Newsoftheworld.co.uk. The pictures were taken during the video shoot for Gimme More. Sadly, TMZ chose to star out her temporarily tattoed nipples and News of the World pulled the pics from their site, but no doubt any desperately horny guy with a connection to Google or Yahoo can pull up her boobs with a little creativity. Get to work, boys!!!

TMZ.com makes jump from online to on-air

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070907/ap_en_tv/tv_tmz_on_air

TMZ.com makes jump from online to on-air
By LYNN ELBER, AP Television Writer
Fri Sep 7, 2007

Wander through TMZ.com at any given moment and it's easy to grasp what the Web site is gleefully pushing. There are stars smooching. Stars sunning. Stars looking hot, or not. And, always, there are stars misbehaving.

TMZ broke the news of Mel Gibson's DUI arrest and Michael Richards' comedy-club tirade. Looking for "new pics" about a car crash involving Hulk Hogan's son? Or of Lindsay Lohan in any number of interesting activities? They're here.

It all adds up to the most popular online entertainment site and, starting Monday, a television show. "TMZ," joining the crowded field of entertainment news magazines, will test the bounds of the TV audience's fascination with celebrity.

The new venture also is a groundbreaking bid to turn an online success into an even more lucrative TV commodity, a tantalizing possibility that has yet to be realized.

Harvey Levin, managing editor of TMZ.com and host and executive producer of the syndicated series, says he isn't thinking about being a crossover pioneer. He's just preoccupied with getting "TMZ" going.

"I am so charged right now. ... We've been running test shows for a month now and I just want to put the show on the air," said Levin, a lawyer who became a TV reporter, commentator and producer ("Celebrity Justice," "The People's Court").

"TMZ," which will be carried on Fox-owned stations as well as on a mix of other network outlets, is to air as a half-hour show on weekdays (mostly within the 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. window) and in an hourlong version on the weekend.

When TMZ.com launched in November 2005 as a joint venture of Telepictures Productions and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL, it was with the intent of eventually translating it to TV, said Hilary Estey McLoughlin, president of Telepictures.

TMZ.com's success was the prerequisite. According to comScore Media Metrix, it's the leading celebrity-news site, with 120 million-plus monthly page views and more than 9 million unique visitors.

(The name is based on the phrase "thirty mile zone," coined in the 1960s for a part of Los Angeles used for location shooting and subject to studio production rules.)

"TMZ" the show is "an important launch for us and a great way to tout that you can brand new projects other than on television and succeed," McLoughlin said. "Part of our strategy is to incubate all kinds of formats and talents and bring them to television."

Jim Paratore, the former Telepictures president who launched TMZ.com and who's producing the TV series with Levin, said they are "trying to do what others are, find the voice that crosses over" from online to on-air.

The program has a good shot at making it, said Bill Carroll, an expert in syndication for Katz Television.

"In a million years, I never would have believed that the national conversation would have been Paris, Britney and Lindsay," Carroll said. "No organization is better at covering that than TMZ. If they can take the tongue-in-cheek sensibility that the Web site has and translate it to broadcast, I'd be very surprised if it's not a success."

It's an interesting test case, said David Card, senior analyst at JupiterResearch.

Whether a show can be launched from a Web site "and then make money and get big audiences" has yet to be seen, Card said. But, he added, "I can't believe it won't happen."

Lew Leone, general manager of WNYW Fox 5 in New York, figures he has solid evidence that "TMZ" will prove a hit for his station.

"I get all the gossip magazines at work, and I get in trouble with my wife if I don't bring them home," Leone said. "It's all the same pictures, same people, but she doesn't tire of looking at them over and over. She's probably typical of viewers out there when it comes to celebrities."

He's also enthusiastic about what's packaged with "TMZ": visitors to WNYW's news Web site can find breaking stories from TMZ.com and promos for the show, which is being distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television.

"It will work for us, it will work for TMZ.com and it will work for the show. I think it's a very powerful way to launch a show and to reach an audience," Leone said.

The competition for "TMZ" includes "Entertainment Tonight," the elder statesman of the Hollywood news shows, along with "The Insider," "Access Hollywood" and, also from Telepictures, "Extra."

"Celebrity Expose," an hour-long weekly program profiling one star at a time, starting with Lohan, debuts Oct. 1 on MyNetworkTV.

Levin is unfazed by the list. In rapid-fire remarks, he asserts that "TMZ" is in a league of its own.

"It doesn't feel like the other shows ... We're not sucking up (to stars). We're not doing junkets. We're not doing red carpets," Levin said.

Humor will be part of the mix because TMZ.com has demonstrated that people enjoy seeing Hollywood covered with irreverence, he said. But he acknowledged that the online vibe — which can veer from snarky to off-color — and that of the show will differ.

"There are obviously things we can do on the Web site that we can't do on TV, and we're not trying to do that. So it's finding the right tone and the right personality," Levin said. "But I know what people want: They want different and they want humor."

Bring it on, said "TMZ's" rivals, including sibling Telepictures entry "Extra," returning for its 14th season Monday.

"The way I look at it, we're in the limo with the stars. They're chasing the limo," said Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey, "Extra" senior executive producer (and Levin's former colleague on "Celebrity Justice"). "It's a completely different point of view."

Linda Bell Blue, executive producer for "Entertainment Tonight" and "The Insider," adopted an equally confident posture in an e-mailed comment.

"With 26 years under `ET's' belt, we have the best connections in the entertainment business and the best connection with our audience. We're excited that people's interest in celebrity journalism remains very high ...." Bell Blue said.

As yet another show joins the fray, however, consumer fatigue seems to be a possibility.

"I don't see any signs of it. The television marketplace has an insatiable appetite for celebrity news," said Greg Meidel, president of MyNetworkTV.

Offers Gregorisch-Dempsey of "Extra": "All this guilty pleasure stuff that people want to talk about ... they have to get it somewhere."
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