editorial comment Of course!

Michael Jackson is broke and has grown irrational through "excessive use of drugs and alcohol", according to a new lawsuit against the pop star.

The claims were made by a former associate of Jackson, who is suing the self-styled "King of Pop" for US$3 million ($4.2 million).

Marc Schaffel, a porn producer and former Jackson confidante, has claimed breach of contact in the suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

It is the latest of 46-year-old Jackson's legal woes. He will go on trial in the New Year accused of molesting a teenage cancer survivor.

According to court papers Jackson asked Schaffel for money. Schaffel said Jackson's "increasingly more frequent excessive use of drugs and alcohol impelled him into irrational demands for large amounts of money and extravagant possessions".

A Jackson spokesman denied the claims, branding them "slanderous".

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