LONDON - A new tell-all book suggests that late King of Pop Michael Jackson was high on painkillers while announcing his 50 gigs at London’s O2 Arena this March.

Entitled ‘Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson’, the book has been written by journalist Ian Halperin, who has spent years researching the late King of Pop and getting close to his inner circle of confidantes.

The author writes that Jackson had taken far too many drugs before taking the stage at a London press conference to announce his 50-date This Is It comeback tour.

“He did a huge round of painkillers and injections before he arrived. He was 90 minutes late and blamed his tardiness on traffic. It was a complete fabrication,” the Daily Express quoted an insider, who has read Halperin’s new book, as having told In Touch magazine.

While recent media reports suggested that Jackson died from a cardiac arrest brought on by an accidental overdose of prescription medication, Halperin writes in the book that late singer’s drug habit was extreme.

The writer even suggests friends and business associates were forbidden from talking to Jackson about his drug use.

“Nobody dared bring it (drug use) up to him. It was taboo,” the source said. (ANI)