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Michael Jackson’s Estate Demands That MSNBC Pull Documentary Focusing on Singer’s Convicted Killer; Production Is Set to Air This Weekend

Nov 10, 2011  •  Post A Comment

Michael Jackson’s estate is demanding that MSNBC cancel its scheduled airing of a documentary made with the cooperation of Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted earlier this week of involuntary manslaughter in the pop star’s death, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Part of the reason for the estate’s request is a question about whether the filmmakers compensated Murray for giving interviews and allowing cameras to track him and his attorneys, the piece notes. NBC bought the British documentary to air on MSNBC this weekend.

"We would like to know how much money in total was paid for this privileged ‘access,’" wrote the estate’s co-executors in a letter Wednesday to executives at MSNBC, NBC and Comcast. "It doesn’t matter to us if it was a production company, Comcast, NBC Universal or MSNBC that paid for access to Dr. Murray because all are morally culpable."

While Murray was $800,000 in debt when Jackson died, he soon hired a defense team that included four lawyers, medical experts and a publicist after signing a deal with a British producer in 2009, the piece says. The people involved in the show declined to discuss details of their arrangement with Murray, the article adds.

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