Michael Jackson could have lived longer if his close friend and dermatologist Arnold Klein had not acted selfishly and enabled his addiction, according to Emmy-winning producer Geoffrey Mark.
Mark, who socialized with Klein in the late 1990s, told Page Six that Klein, known as a "dermatologist to the stars," did not do enough to help Jackson combat his opioid and painkiller addictions between the late 1980s and his death in 2009. Mark alleged that Klein behaved more like an enabler than a medical professional.
"Arnie thought that Michael was addicted, but that didn’t stop him from writing the prescriptions," Mark said of Klein, who initially introduced Mark to Jackson. Mark claimed that in the final months of Jackson's life, Klein administered numerous Demerol injections and performed Botox treatments on the singer at his Beverly Hills office. Klein died in 2015.
Mark believes Klein "didn’t try hard enough" to help Jackson gradually reduce his substance use or to intervene, despite concerns raised by others who knew the singer. Instead, Mark suggested Klein was more focused on personal gain and status.
"Arnie was very much about the jet-set Hollywood life, knowing, being on the inside of all this stuff. I think that was Arnie’s drug," Mark stated. "To that end, Arnie couldn’t say ‘no’ to Michael because saying ‘no’ to Michael would have ended that kind of entrée."
Mark further asserted that Klein's self-centered approach influenced Jackson's care. "His nature was having financial, social power and getting himself the spotlight, getting the men he wanted to be with, getting famous people to want him and need him, so that he was on the inside of things," Mark alleged. "And then once he was on the inside, he used what he learned to further himself."
Despite Klein's alleged long-term enabling, Mark believes Jackson ultimately bore the most responsibility for his own death. "Michael had millions of dollars to go to other doctors who would have just as happily taken the money and enabled him," Mark explained. "So unfortunately the addiction was already there, and no one person could have made a difference, except Michael himself."
"An addict needs a moment of clarity to understand, ‘If I don’t change, I’m gonna die,’" Mark added.
Jackson died at age 50 on June 25, 2009, from cardiac arrest brought on by acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication. The fatal dose was administered by his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, who was attempting to treat the singer's insomnia. Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served less than two years in prison.
Mark noted that Jackson used a significant amount of medications and narcotics in the last two decades of his life. These included cocaine, daily Demerol injections while on tour, and the hospital anesthetic Diprivan for sleep. The singer also allegedly used sedatives such as Lorazepam, Midazolam, and Diazepam, alongside stronger medications like Xanax, Zoloft, hydrocodone, paroxetine, carisoprodol, and hydromorphone regularly.
According to Mark, Jackson became dependent on medication after sustaining scalp burns from a pyrotechnic accident during a 1984 Pepsi commercial shoot.
"Back then, I realized Michael needed help," Mark admitted. However, he felt powerless to stage an intervention.
"An ethical doctor or a good psychologist could have helped him," Mark contended. "In the bigger picture of addiction, I’ve tried to help a lot of celebrities through the years. I’ve had more failures than successes, quite frankly. When I realized there was nothing I could say or do for Michael or Arnold that could be helpful, I walked away."