Michael Jackson The Farewell

[KIMItheThreadSlayer]

I think it is a rather nice send off,
Fitting.
Nice to hear others sing his songs

you lot?

would that the only threads i was on were on the subject of freakish funerals... i'd probably get a lot more done.

AitchTwoOh

lovely chat with Henry Winkler last night

swoon

Swine flu parties simpson

There's a big difference between a child speaking at a private family funeral, and at an event televised to millions that will be repeated over and over again. Her family are supposed to be protecting her, even if she wanted to do it I think it was extremely ill-advised. She is a grieving and vulnerable child.

No comment on the rest, I didn't watch, just saw the "highlights" on the news (and of course a sobbing child is part of the highlights )

oooh yes i did enjoy the fonz, bald. if anyone sheds a tear when he pops his stack heeled clogs, i'll be right by their side.

i thought it was reslly good.it was sad,it brought a few tears even though im not a MJ fan,it"s when you see him singing when he was really young and he never knew then how his life was going to turn out.

tbh, I saw the girl speak earlier (on the news)....and thought...awww...I truely feel sorry for his Kids....
but than I saw family singing, that have been quite negative in ohter programmes and all I could think ...well...here you are just to get your name out there again....those are just sad...
tbh, I just wish MJ never had paid off those Kids....because, either way it is just really shit the doubt one feels.....because he paid them off, I feel..can it really have been te truth, but I also feel the truth will never really be known....but, in a cynical way, I feel that any parent would want someone who hurt teir Kids in prison/wants to see justice...and would not be happy to be payed for their Kids misery

I feel for his kids

god, totally gilly. that wee boy, whatever happened to him?

ben was a beautiful song(I know it was about a rat)

Well I can't believe how cynical you are. I don't think it was intended that she cry for the cameras. I found the whole show emotional, a bit too controlled but when Brooke Shields and the daughter spoke I was moved, and cried when the little girl spoke, I'm not ashamed to say. For she was someone's daughter whatever people thought of her father.

is the general consensus that the child was made to cry? i do hate it when people extrapolate the mood of the whole website from one post...

personally i think she was completely genuine, completely wanted to have her moment to stick up for a father that she loved etc etc. but, i don't think she should have been on that stage, i think she should have been protected from being used as entertainment and gossip fodder over this. and it wasn't her dad's funeral, that was some days earlier. this was a mahoosive global telecast, and her family should have kept the kids out of the limelight at this vulnerable time.

but then the jacksons do NOT have a good record when it comes to protecting vulnerable children, whether their own or other people's.

I find it so ironic that so much is being made of him being an African American and that most of the tributes are coming from fellow black artists.

this was a man that spent his whole adult life trying to not be black. He bleached his skin, he had surgery to look more caucasian and even used a sperm donor so he could have white kids.

If i were black I'd feel betrayed not proud.

AitchTwoOh thanks you said what I think

As usual agree with aitch partic re the jackson family modus operandi

don't think the kids should have been there TBH although do believe MJ's daughter genuinely wanted to talk.

Also think there is something a bit about the casket being there too.

nancy that was what I was thinking. He had surgery/treatment to make him whiter etc.

Sad all round really....

God! OF COURSE the children had a right to be present at their own fathers memorial. They had more right than any one else to be there! Just goes to show that with anything related to Jackson, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. I for one found the entire thing very moving, and I wonder where the world is going and what kind of future society there will be for my children, when adult people today cannot hold back their cynicism for one moment, and at least find something good or respectful to reflect on about the dead! There is more to life than criticising, despising and complaining!

I only watched about half (woke up at 4.15am!), but I found it entirely moving. I think the whole family were very protective of those kids on that stage, and we will never know if she was "set up" to talk, but I genuinely feel that she wanted to show her love for her dad. It may have been a spur of the moment thing, I watched the highlights again, and they brothers do ask if Janet wants to say something.

I thought it was a beautiful service. Agree MJ's family cannot do right for doing wrong. I thought it was very touching, a little girl saying how much she loved her daddy - I had kept myself together up until then. I just hope the media leave the kids alone.

I* think certain people on here just look to be mean.
Moan the kids were there but would have said it was wrong if they were not, I think the Jackson family did what they felt was right.

I have been to some funerals and memorials that have been cringe worthy but if that is what people need then so be it.

It was a beautiful tribute to his music.
And I think his daughter was very brave, she knew her daddy, she is old enough to understand vile people attacking her daddy, and she wanted to tell them all to go away.
Good for her

When did this happen? I missed it being at the Darwin festival in Cambridge luckily

I thought it was a lovely memorial. Some of the readings were lovely. I cried when Brooke Shield spoke and when Jermaine sung.
I thought his family looked genuinely upset and grieving.
There was alot of question about whether or not they should make the funeral/memorial public and they decided to hold 2 services. All this about getting on tv and making money blah blah, if it hadn't been public or broadcast people would be saying that we have all been cheated and should have had the chance to say goodbye to one of the biggest stars of our time and so on. Regardless of what the Jacksons decided to do for MJ's funeral, it'd have been wrong for someone.
I did think that Paris's speech seemed forced. I have nothing against gentle encouragement, but I kind of got the feeling that they were all surrounding her urging her to say something to counteract all the talk of allegations there was.

what utter bullshit about them not being able to do rigth for doing wrong. it's an utterly meaningless saying in any case.

the vast majority of people on these MN threads have expressed the view that the children should not have been ON STAGE, not that they shouldn't have attended their father's memorial service. it's important for the grieving process for children not to be cut out of these things, but putting them on stage was a bridge too far.

sometimes i think people can't read, or don't read, because they want to show how 'good' they are and will do so by unfairly characterising others as 'bad'.

i'd love to know which of us would've let our kids sleep in a bed with michael jackson, a man acquitted of the charge of paedophilia. or would let their daughters marry OJ Simpson, a man acquitted of the charge of murder?

from what i saw, btw, i thought it looked like a pretty nice tribute to a greatly talented entertainer.