Michael Jackson accidentally killed himself while trying to become sick enough to cancel upcoming concerts, a prominent author claims.

Author Gerald Posner, who also writes for The Daily Beast, claims that a top member of the pop singer’s entourage told him that Jackson wanted to cancel several shows without having to pay out his touring company.

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According to the advisor, who was not named in the report, Jackson intentionally took a large amount of prescription drugs to induce a trip to hospital.

"Like a child who doesn’t want to go to school… Michael thought he could get away from his obligations if he had a 'note from the doctor'," the advisor reportedly said.

Jackson's contract with the company handling the 50-show tour stated that if the singer cancelled any concert, he would have to pay a penalty to the promoters, according to The Daily Beast.

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But most contracts have a medical infirmity clause, whereby if a performer is hospitalized no penalty needs to be paid.

It was also reported that at least six other sources supported the claim that Jackson was looking for ways to reduce the number of concerts.

The advisor also said that Jackson's use of painkillers had increased over the past decade and he believed the performer mixed his pills in order to be sick enough to go to hospital.

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