Michael Jackson Dies

06/25/09 4:52pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

UPDATE: TMZ is now reporting that Michael Jackson died 5:20 p.m. ET.

UPDATE #2: The Los Angeles Times reports he is in a coma, and CNN also says he is not dead. Meanwhile, Reuters reports he is dead.

UPDATE #3: The Los Angeles Times now confirms Jackson is dead and reports he was pronounced dead by doctors after he arrived at the hospital this afternoon.

Michael Jackson reportedly went into cardiac arrest this afternoon and has been taken to hospital in Los Angeles.

TMZ reports a 911 call was placed at 12:21 p.m. PST (3:21 p.m. ET) at Jackson's in Los Angeles' Holmby Hills. He was reportedly taken to hospital and was administered CPR in an ambulance.

No other information is available at the moment and it's not known whether Jackson is still in hospital.

Jackson's health has been the subject of rumours all year. Jackson claimed he was too sick to travel to England in November for a trial after he was sued for more than $7 million U.S. by Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, one of the king of Bahrain's sons. Jackson eventually went to England.

In December, it was reported he was in need of a lung transplant and was suffering from Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, a genetic disorder that depletes a protein that protects the liver and lungs, which was causing chronic gastrointesntinal bleeding, had left him 95-per cent blind in his left eye and had given him emphysema.

Dr. Tohme Tohme, Jackson's spokesperson, denied the rumours and said Jackson was fine.

In February, the U.K.'s The Sun tabloid reported Jacko was suffering from a skin infection that could turn into a flesh disease. He was then apparently hooked up to an intravenous tube filled with antibiotics so he could beat a staph infection that he might have picked up after having plastic surgery on his nose.

Jackson, 50, is to play 50 shows in London, England this summer, but an American promoter is seeking to block them because he says Jackson's manager signed a contract with him that prevents Jackson from doing other performances.