.

Michael Jackson Reportedly Hospitalized After Cardiac Arrest

June 25, 2009 5:23 PM ET

Michael Jackson has been taken by ambulance to a Los Angeles hospital after reportedly going into cardiac arrest, TMZ reports. The 911 call from Jackson's Holmby Hills home was placed at 12:21 p.m. PST. No other details are known as yet, but Jackson's mother is reportedly already on the way to the hospital. Jackson is in "really bad shape," an unspecified family member told TMZ, while Jackson's father Joe told the site, "He is not doing well." Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Steve Ruda told L.A. TV station KTLA that Jackson wasn't breathing when paramedics arrived; they performed CPR and took Jackson to UCLA Medical Center.

(Look back at Jackson's life and career, in photos.)

Jackson is in the Los Angeles area for rehearsals for his upcoming 50-show This Is It! run of concerts at London's O2 Arena. As Rolling Stone reported, sources say Jackson has been absent from many rehearsals, with a stand-in required to take his place. While no reasons were given for why Jackson might be missing the rehearsals, questions regarding the King of Pop's health have dogged the Thriller singer for years.

(Rolling Stone's essential Michael Jackson coverage: photos, reviews and more.)

So far, the four opening This Is It! shows have been postponed due to the "massive and technically complex" nature of the shows and not because of Jackson's health, a rep for AEG Live, who is staging the O2 concerts, told Rolling Stone. No official confirmation or statement regarding TMZ's report was available at press time.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

prev
Music Main Next

blog comments powered by Disqus
Daily Newsletter

Get the latest RS news in your inbox.

Sign up to receive the Rolling Stone newsletter and special offers from RS and its
marketing partners.

X

We may use your e-mail address to send you the newsletter and offers that may interest you, on behalf of Rolling Stone and its partners. For more information please read our Privacy Policy.

Song Stories

“Let My Love Open the Door”

Pete Townshend | 1980

A peppy, hopeful love song, "Let My Love Open the Door" became a U. S. Top Ten hit for Pete Townshend in 1980, anchored by the kind of repeating synthesizer figures that he'd used in some of the Who's recordings in the previous decade. Although Townshend brushed the song off as "just a ditty" in Rolling Stone shortly after its release, in 1996 he revealed it was about love of the holiest sort. "It's supposed to be about the power of God's love," he remarked. "That when you're in difficulty, whether it's major or minor, God's love is always there for you."

More Song Stories entries »