Kenny Ortega shares key takeaway from working with Michael Jackson

Kenny Ortega, director of Michael Jackson's This Is It, opened up about a major lesson he learned from the King of Pop.

Billie Jeans hitmaker, who died in June 2009 from a cardiac arrest caused by an overdose of propofol, was a longtime collaborator of Ortega.

In a recent podcast Chicks in the Office, the Descendants filmmaker revealed how Smooth Criminal crooner encouraged him to make his sets feel like safe spaces for creative exploration.

"He would always start by saying, 'Kenny, we can't let fear into the room. Fear only gets in the way of creativity. We can't let fear into the room,'" Ortega said. "And he was aware of it. He watched for it."

The High School Musical creator further shared that Jackson disliked seeing accountants or executives during rehearsals.

"He didn't want the money people in the room going, 'You can't do that. We can't afford that. We can't,'" Ortega added.

"At the end of the day, you know, we had to balance a budget. He didn't really like to do that very much, but he was a creative genius and he just didn't want anything in the space."

Documentary This Is It was Jackson's posthumous project which gave fans insight of the final show preparations.

Ortega also worked on three of the singer's prior tours, including the Dangerous World Tour, HIStory World Tour, and Michael Jackson & Friends.