Carolyn Tillie Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 (My interest in what killed him is also at a pretty low level.) And my interest is more how many pages this thread will become... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Blondie Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I like to cut some slack for people who have just suffered the sudden and tragic loss of a family member. Especially ones who have been forced to mourn in public as this family has. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Aaron T Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Circus time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yvonne johnson Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Was that Robyn I spotted in the crowd? Don't think so. FWIW - I was doing a lot of market work today. And a couple of times - when CNBC went to commercials - I clicked on CNN. Once - I got Brooke Shields. Can she stand still for 5 seconds without flipping her hair back? Somehow - I think Andre Agassi is better off with Steffi Graf. And then one time I got the little girl - his kid. Making her speech about her father (I am giving everyone the benefit of the doubt here - because she certainly didn't look like any child of his). But good grief - putting an 11 year old child whose father has just died in front of thousands of strangers on national TV - and having her "perform her grief" in public - well it's grotesque IMO. Child abuse. I defy anyone here to say this was appropriate. But hey guys - it's all about the money. The head of AEG was on CNBC this morning. Snarky fellow. Laughing up his sleeve at the free ride and the millions he'll get at the expense of LA taxpayers. I would expect nothing more from him. But putting that little girl out front was apparently a family decision - guess that Janet Jackson figured she needed something to boost her ratings. Disgusting. Robyn P.S. I read somewhere else that most of the people who performed had albums coming out in the next year. Coincidence? I think not. Next you'll be arguing kids shouldn't be allowed to attend funerals. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PatDC Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 But good grief - putting an 11 year old child whose father has just died in front of thousands of strangers on national TV - and having her "perform her grief" in public - well it's grotesque IMO. Child abuse. I defy anyone here to say this was appropriate.I found it quite upsetting and have been getting blowback elsewhere online for saying so. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mongo_jones Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 it's one thing to not be interested in the private lives of celebrities; it's quite another to be so above it all as to be oblivious to it when it is turned into all but unavoidable spectacle. i'm afraid as much regard as i have for michael jackson's career and genius, i too find a lot of this quite distasteful and exploitative. i too have more things to worry about than the future of jackson's kids but i don't think there's anything wrong with anyone registering their discomfort with some of the ways in which they've been presented of late. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hollywood Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I question my sanity when mongo says something I completely agree with. It's unsettling. It just should not be, yet it is. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
prasantrin Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I didn't see any of the show, but I also feel uncomfortable with the daughter speaking to the audience. She may have wanted to do it, and it may even had been her idea, but had I been her guardian, I would not have allowed it. She has always been relatively sheltered from the world--was that really something her father would have wanted? To have her displayed to the world in such a fragile state? Had she or those in charge really wanted to particpate, she could have written a letter and let someone else read it. It reminds me of when Harry and William had to follow their mother's casket when Princess Diana died. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
H. du Bois Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I was just going to ask if those who felt that this was merely exploitative objected to Harry and William following their mother's casket at her televised funeral. Or to the closeups of young Harry's handwritten card on his mother's wreath, which said, "Mummy." Or to Bobby Kennedy's many young children attending his televised funeral mass. Or to JFK Jr. or Caroline attending their father's televised funeral mass. Or to JFK Jr. saluting his father's casket for the photographers - he was what, three? His mother directed him to do it. Public figures who die tend to be laid to rest publicly as well, which means that their families grieve publicly, too. It's been that way throughout my lifetime. Nothing new here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nuxvomica Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 what H. says. the Jacksons are a family of entertainers, they do pretty much everything in public and likely see things like this differently. kids do what they see adults do. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jesteinf Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Watching Larry King last night, those close to the family said that Janet was supposed to talk but couldn't. That's when Michael's daughter took the microphone and spoke. I thought it was sweet and heartbreaking. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
flyfish Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Mourning might take place in public for the kids of military members and civic leaders, among others, not just celebrities. And one cannot assume it is exploitation or that it will affect them negatively. Children can be much more resilient than we think. In later years they may have reason to be happy or proud that they were able to be part of a public ceremony for a parent. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ghostrider Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Watching Larry King last night, those close to the family said that Janet was supposed to talk but couldn't. That's when Michael's daughter took the microphone and spoke. I thought it was sweet and heartbreaking. Another reminder that speculation is just that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yvonne johnson Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I was just going to ask if those who felt that this was merely exploitative objected to Harry and William following their mother's casket at her televised funeral. Or to the closeups of young Harry's handwritten card on his mother's wreath, which said, "Mummy." Or to Bobby Kennedy's many young children attending his televised funeral mass. Or to JFK Jr. or Caroline attending their father's televised funeral mass. Or to JFK Jr. saluting his father's casket for the photographers - he was what, three? His mother directed him to do it. Public figures who die tend to be laid to rest publicly as well, which means that their families grieve publicly, too. It's been that way throughout my lifetime. Nothing new here. JFK Jr was in my mind too. If MJ's kids had not been visible, people would be complaining. Just as they did when the Queen didn't publicly speak about Diana's death. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
robyn Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 if you're a performer and don't have new product coming out every year to 18 months you can get lost in the dust. Unless you are Michael Jackson, apparently. sony has enough unreleased tracks, in its library, that he'll likely have a new album every year for 10 years Just FYI - from today's WSJ: "One component likely to be missing from a posthumous Michael Jackson industry: complete new songs. The unreleased new material in his personal vaults consists primarily of musical song beds, without the singer's voice." Robyn Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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