Michael Jackson The Farewell

[KIMItheThreadSlayer]

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

I agree Aitch - I felt a bit uncomfortable watching Latoya (or Janet?) egging the girl on to speak. Almost looked like they pushed her onto the mike at one point.

Also was a bit at the casket just sitting there, and when Usher sang "Gone too Soon" to it, literally, I wanted to turn it off but DP insisted on watching it. I even thought at the end that they were waving to the casket (surely it was the crowd but to me it looked like they were waving down at one point )

I thought it was a nice thing to do though, just a bit cringworthy in parts.....he was a musical genius, not Jesus.

i kinda thought the opposite, that they were checking she was sure she was okay to speak.

remember, we've seen quite a lot of latoya and jermaine on bb, they seemed like nice people, if a bit cowardly when it came to standing up against strong figures in the house. (which i think has to be related to their bullying father). this, in addition to michael's dual role as their brother and meal ticket, must have made it difficult for them to put their foot down about his behaviour.

i'm still really interested in getting a roll-call on how many of us would have let our children sleep in his bed... not me, not a chance.

have read maureen orth pieces, dittany.

If the family were trying to force Paris to speak ( not my view) then why were the boys excluded? Surely it would have been more 'news worthy' or whatever, if his son had spoken? No?

I didn't think his daughter was forced to speak. His brother finished talking and then he said that Janet was going to say something but Paris said she wanted to say something so they put the microphone down so she could.

I really felt that his daughter wanted to speak and saw an opportunity to tell everyone what her father meant to her and that the other Jacksons looked very concerned about her. I thought it wss incredibly brave of her.

nope. pretty girl always marginally more newsworthy than pretty boy. i doubt there has ever been a suggestion that he abused his own children.

I don't think he was guilty, but I wouldn't have let my kid sleep in his bed. There again though I wouldn't let my kid sleep in any adults bed unless it was mine or close family I trusted.

I thought it was beautiful and fitting service. No matter what the family did, the sanctimonious, self-righteous cynics would have criticised them so their opinion is not worth expending air over imo.

His children are beautiful and are feeling totally bereft of their father who they loved, worshipped and adored. I wonder how many of the cynics who berate the Jackson family have such a close and loving relationship with their parent or offspring?

I listened to "Smile" this morning on his History album. The way MJ sings it is so moving and heart-breaking.

It was fitting that the family played "Man in the Mirror" towards the end of the memorial.

"If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make that change". Cynics take note.

It was totally bizarre.

Not a memorial service as these are a lot more, joyous.

It wasn't really even a wake, unless you're best friends with 15,000 people.

It wasn't really a funeral either.

Think MJ's daughter could be forgiven for being emotional and confused especially as the adults thought it was appropriate for her to be on stage in a very public arena (that is normally where basketball games are played)

It was extremely touching though. Kind of got the feeling that MJ was a money making machine for the rest of the family, but the kids just missed their dad.

I hope the family are protective of those children and keep them away from the child beater that is Joseph Jackson.

No. Mind you I wouldn't let my dds sleep in any grown man's bed (apart from their father obv).

I thought the whole thing was a bit bobbins tbh. Skipping the whole shouting Rev/swaying kids vibe that was toe splayingly awful, the show memorial was a bit amateurish.

For a man who was the ultimate in performance perfectionism I reckon he would have been rather disappointed.

I wouldn't let my child sleep in his bed. In the same way that I would let her sleep in the bed of any person I didn't know extremely well! My DD has jumped into bed with friends when their DC have done so in a morning, and into grandparents beds, or her aunties, etc. But that is it. They'd be no reason for her to do so.

When I watched the clip of his daughter it was uncomfortable yes. But I don;t thinks he was forced to seak. She seemed to genuinely want to and the others seemed to be checking she was ok. I think a lot of 11y in that situation mght have felt like they wanted to speak. Steve Irwin's daughter did too, didn't she?

To be fair - I didn't see it, but if it did look a bit thrown together or "amatuerish" don;t forget it has been arranged incredibly quickly. Most concerts take months of planning, not a few short days.

the interesting thing about saying 'i wouldn't let my kids sleep in any man's bed' is that this is how MJ's lawyers sought his acquittal, by 'criminalising' Gavin Arviso's mother for letting her son live with MJ.

the circular 'so you thought he might be a paedophile and you let your child sleep with him?!' argument (while simultaneously declaring MJ innocent of abuse) is what won MJ the trial. make the mother the ogre, works every time. if abuse was taking place, quoth the lawyer, then she's guilty for letting her children in MJ's orbit, the greedy, grasping bitch. it was a brilliant defence, one that completely banjaxed a starstruck jury and dim people across the globe.

it would have been more usual to have a memorial concert a few months later, wouldnt it? i wonder what all the rush was for? (because those people don't know how to do a single thing without applause, imo).

Lets just hope those kids have their childhoods protected in a way Jackson's never was. Hope Joe Jackson does not get custody

I should also add though that if I truely believed a person had abused my child I would not have given in. I would not have accepted money instead of justice. I think it sends entirely the wrong message to the child - that the mother thinks that her child's innocence can be bought. I would have fought and fought, no matter what.

I confess I was moved by it all.

I was never a fan of his but I liked Thriller and several of his songs. I can remember jumping up and down in sixth form discos to some of his songs feeling like a dick. But its is sad he is gone and I can't believe it.

But did anyone look at the coffin and expect him to jump out of it at the end like some huge publicity stunt?

Don't care about all the nitty gritty stuff....MJ was the greatest entertainer that ever lived IMO [yes, ahead of Prince (just), Beatles, Elvis etc.]....I have been playing his videos for my kids and they are fascinated especially as I moonwalk etc.

Yes, he had problems because of his childhood but don't spoil it with tittle tattle just celebrate the life of a genius.

So glad I went to that Prince concert at the O2 now. Enjoy it all.

I think considering that the family are grieving for MJ who died just over a week ago, they did well in arranging a memorial of this scale.

Paris was not forced to speak. She wanted to and good for her. Her aunties and uncles were checking that she was OK.

MJ will not only live on through his incredible musical legacy, he will do so through his children.

gavin arviso's less than perfect mother tried to get justice for her child and was excoriated for doing so. she might have been better off taking the cash.

I'm going to have to ponder upon the whole MJ defense strategy thing
[not enough caffeine]

I wonder why they didn't do the 'big' memorial later, to have given him the show and send off that a man of his musical and performace talents deserved.

less is more imo. Yesterday should have been shorter and slicker, with some well rehersed musical performances. It was a total bunfight on the stage at the end. Of course my opinion matters not if his family and proper fans thought it was fitting and a good send off.

TDiddy, I agree. MJ was the greatest entertainer that ever lived because he could do it all.
He was a gifted song writer and wrote classic songs like Billie Jean,
Nobody (even Prince or The Beatles) will ever sell as many individual albums as he did (even Invincible sold over 9.5 million copies but his record company thought it was a flop
His dancing was incredible (all Elvis could do was wiggle his hips and flips his legs from side to side) (The Beatle could not dance at all)
His was a natural and gifted singer with a voice that could soar as well as break your heart (listen to him sing You are not alone or Smile)
He could play instruments.

He was a brilliantly gifted entertainer who has influenced and been copied by many.

I thought what Marlon had to say was very moving indeed, as well as Jermaine singing "Smile".

Gavin Arviso's mother was an extortionist and the jury delivered the not guilty verdict because the only thing MJ was guilty off was naivety. Those who say otherwise, should give their evidence to the relevant authorities

In the first case, no criminal charges were ever brought because there was no case to answer. The family (another bunch of extortionists) filed the civil case to get money. MJ wanted to go to court to the fight the case but was wrongly advised to settle for the sake the of the child (who refused to testify against MJ).

yep, just that little matter of paedophilia to take the shine off, spokette...

slub, it was a fantastic defence. 'you, mrs arviso took MJ's cars to rodeo drive and bought tacky clothes with his money, did you not? all the while your children were in his care? so clearly there was some transaction here, your kids for his money? WHAT KIND OF A MOTHER WOULD DO THAT? you are clearly not a good person, we cannot trust a word you say, THEREFORE your accusation that MJ abused your sick child must be a lie and an attempt to extort money from MJ.'

bingo. genius.

we all saw that martin bashir film, you could SEE that theirs was an innappropriate relationship. you might have seen it for real, if there hadn't been an elaborate set of tread-activated alarms to warn MJ of anyone coming near his double-locked bedroom.