Michael Jackson objects after being unmasked in court battle over concerts

First they saw him - perhaps a little too much of him - and then they didn't. Michael Jackson missed a morning session in court yesterday after his lawyer objected to a photographer whose pictures generated a torrent of publicity over the singer's freakish appearance.

The 44-year-old star finally turned up hours late for a second day of testimony in a contract dispute with a concert promoter. The case might have passed unnoticed were it not for the photographs of Jackson taken on Wednesday in the court in central California.

The singer removed the surgical mask he habitually wears ­ supposedly to ward off germs and air pollution ­ revealing a scarred, misshapen, peeling nose, swollen lips and eyes heavily ringed with make-up.

No explanation was given for Jackson's morning absence but the pool photographer said he had been summoned to judge Zel Canter's chambers because of objections from Jackson's legal team. He was not, however, barred from the court.

When the self-styled King of Pop finally returned to the courthouse at Santa Maria, near his Neverland Valley ranch, he appeared drowsy. His eyes drooped and he had to be prompted to answer by lawyers as testimony proceeded at a snail's pace.

The German concert promoter Marcel Avram, who has had a long, stormy relationship with Jackson, alleges he was left $21m (£13m) out of pocket when Jackson pulled out of two millennium concerts in Honolulu and Sydney, Australia, on either side of the international date line.

Jackson had told the court on Wednesday it was Mr Avram who cancelled the engagements. "I remember feeling a little bit upset because I was looking forward to doing the millennium shows," Jackson said. He also said it was untrue he failed to rehearse for the concerts, claiming he had practised his moves in front of a bathroom mirror.

Scores of fans had spent a second day gathered outside the courthouse waiting for Jackson turn up.