I don’t know, I’m not a parent, I’m fundamentally clueless about what is correct in terms of child development. I’m also a huge fan of honestly expressing grief, of being honest and real about death, and of making and keeping children aware of these things. This is life. Life ends in death. Kidding ourselves about it is not just pointless, it’s stupid - staying aware of the fact that life is guarantee-free and short by any measure should make us use our time better and love each other more.
BUT ON THE OTHER HAND…
it just felt icky and voyeuristic and unnecessary and not honest and generally vile to put Jackson’s daughter Paris up to the microphone so she could show us exactly how devastated she is by the loss of the only parent she knows, and evidently adores, with ample reason.
What, we didn’t KNOW the children are trashed? We have to WATCH?
Why?
Now, if there’s reliable information that Paris asked to, wanted to, needed to…then I’m 100% on board.
It wasn’t planned at all- the Jacksons speaking at the end, I mean. They were asked to come up and say thank you to the crowd and they started talking. This is from the producer of the show.
Paris in particular wasn’t planned- Marlon thought Janet wanted to speak, when Janet motioned that Paris wanted to. No one said this, but you can see it and hear it yourself.
The little girl wanted to say something about her daddy- she knew what people said about him (she stood up and clapped when Sharpton said there was nothing weird about her daddy). So, she stood up and said something heartfelt and her family appeared to be there for her when she was overcome with the grief from it. I think it was heartbreaking, yes, but a beautiful testament to what strong kids MJ raised. What makes it so beautiful is that it clearly was so spontaneous.
For some reason the heavy microphone adjusting - especially to get her words better when she started breaking me down - bothered me more than anything else. It was like everyone had to fall all over themselves to try to look helpful to his kid. Her words and her hug of Janet seemed very real, though.
This, precisely. You can see her off to the side before she speaks, talking to one of her uncles (I think), nodding emphatically. I think they were asking if she really wanted to speak and she was saying yes. I think she decided on the spur of the moment that she had to say something.
What’s gross about a daughter speaking at her father’s funeral? I’m no Michael Jackson fan but that was a moving speech and it was entirely appropriate. If it felt voyeuristic it’s because you were watching her bury her Daddy.
All reports are that he was a superb father, which makes their loss even more heartbreaking. I will be so incredibly sad if they grow up to be horrible little Hollywood brats.
What i want to know is WHATS WITH THE KIDS BEING WHITE. I know they are supposed to have a white momma but they don’t even look half black. Micheal Jackson only turned white on the inside, his sperm and stuff would still be black.
First of all, my wife says that sperm that is of a black color is just gross.
And B: Go read TMZ.com Debbie Rowe has stated over and over that MJ had nothing to do with the production of the children (besides the money of course).
My thoughts exactly. All the back patting… can’t put my finger on why it made me uncomfortable. But her speaking did put his larger-than-life image into perspective for me, if only for a moment. I will admit I got a certain voyeuristic thrill seeing his children unasked (I only saw photos of them recently), and I do feel a bit bad about that.
Why would Michael Jackson take someone elses sperm and make white babies with it with a woman he didnt love? Was there something wrong with his sperm? DId he just do that because nobody would let him adopt white babies? I never paid much attention to him until recently but the more I hear the more weirded out i get.
I agree with this. She is old enough to know what is going on and wanted to speak. Part of her healing process. These kids have been very sheltered and I thought it was an indication of strength, maturity and normality.
Considering that they are 100% a show-biz family, I thought it was humorously endearing that they were falling over themselves to make sure the sound was right.
Why on earth does it matter? I’m pretty ambivalent towards Jackson myself, but the origins of his kids aren’t any part of that. Families are made by caring for each other, not by sharing genetic material.
I thought Paris speaking at the funeral was beautiful and appropriate. She looked like she was speaking because she wanted to, not because she was being forced to, and it was a tribute from the heart to the only father she’s ever known. Just about the only genuine moment that’s come out of this whole week.
Someone linked to some Vanity Fair articles on Michael Jackson in another thread and I just finished reading one of them. The article claimed MJ hated his father Joe Jackson so much that he used donor sperm rather than risk having children who resembled their grandfather. A link to the July 2005 article C.S.I. Neverland.
And, though I know it was a manufactured moment–MORE manufactured than this one–I still mist up when I see the film of John-John saluting his father’s casket.