# Is it as gross as it seems for Paris to have spoken? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 8, 2009, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275 "2009-07-08T00:02:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/21 "2009-07-08T03:31:44Z")
She is a courageous little girl. It was the most touching moment of the tributes. When she is older, I think that she will be glad that she did it. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/22 "2009-07-08T03:43:24Z")
I loathe Jackson, but Paris had every right to speak as she wanted to, and I think it was obvious that she loved her father. Poor girl. And as **Zoe** said, I’m sure that someday, she’ll be glad she did. ---
**Author:** ![King\_Bobo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@King\_Bobo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Bobo)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/23 "2009-07-08T03:55:54Z")
This poor child was at the funeral of her FATHER. The only father she has had. Who has loved her for her whole life and whom she has just lost. I too was a child when my father died, and had to stand over his grave and was required to throw in the first shovelful of dirt; traumatic for me then and still something I remember with sorrow so many years later. Give this poor child a break. She just lost her most loving parent. Remember your Father well little girl, he surely loved you a lot. ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/24 "2009-07-08T04:09:44Z")
Remember, Michael Jackson came onto the scene when he himself was only 6. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/25 "2009-07-08T04:13:48Z")
Why the hell does Paris Hilton have to show up everywhere there’s a mic? Doesn’t she know… What? Oh. Um, for those poking sharp sticks at Stoid (or appearing to poke sharp sticks at Stoid), note that the OP wasn’t really an angry screed but more of an IMHO-type conversational question. Especially note two key quotes: > [@Stoid](#): > > Now, if there’s reliable information that Paris asked to, wanted to, needed to… **then I’m 100% on board**. and > [@Stoid](#): > > 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. (emphasis added) ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/26 "2009-07-08T04:28:14Z")
I didn’t watch the service, I only saw the clip of Paris on the news. And it was the most honest and natural grief I’ve seen expressed in the whole loony spectacle that’s been going on since the man died. What’s gross is the ghoulish coverage, publicity seeking, and profiteering (scalping tickets to a funeral? Seriously?) Everybody else there may have lost “the world’s greatest entertainer” but Paris just brought it all crashing back to earth that she and her brothers lost their daddy. I think they’ve got the worse part of the deal, really. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/27 "2009-07-08T05:43:10Z")
> [@xanthous](#): > > 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. This was my thought, actually. I giggled a bit, as I was wiping away tears at the little girl about to speak, because they were just so . . . Jackson. It was sweet, I thought. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/28 "2009-07-08T05:48:03Z")
> [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > Yeah, seriously. You (the OP) were watching the funeral of someone you didn’t know on TV. You _should_ feel weird and icky. Wierdo. Not a weirdo here. I was at a doctor appointment with **kaylasmom** while the service was going on, and was tuned to KPCC on the way home. We heard “live coverage” of the tail end of the service, and every now and then Larry Mantle would break in to tell us who was singing or speaking. I thought to myself “why is he talking over the audio?” Then he said: “Let’s go over to Frank Stoltz who’s live inside Staples Center.” I turned to **kaylasmom** and said: “Were we just listening to a radio announcer watching TV?” Well, maybe that’s a LITTLE weird… ETA: And yes, Paris breaking down kind of destroyed me, too. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/29 "2009-07-08T06:07:31Z")
> [@Ruby\_G](#): > > 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. What I always wondered was why didn’t MJ and Lisa make a superrockstar baby while they were together? MJ’s kid, Elvis’s grandkid–awesome genes. (Or it could have been tone deaf with no rhythm, since it’s all a crapshoot. Worth a try though.) ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/30 "2009-07-08T06:14:16Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Her words and her hug of Janet seemed very real, though. Yeah, I liked that she was surrounded by relatives who really seemed there for them, and that Janet gave her a big hug at the end and was comforting her. Even though these kids have lost their father, it’s good to know they’ve got people who love and care for them. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/31 "2009-07-08T06:17:28Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > What I always wondered was why didn’t MJ and Lisa make a superrockstar baby while they were together? MJ’s kid, Elvis’s grandkid–awesome genes. (Or it could have been tone deaf with no rhythm, since it’s all a crapshoot. Worth a try though.) Lisa Marie said later in an interview that she had young children herself already and wanted to focus on them. Plus, she said, the thought of a custody battle over some quickly conceived children early in the marriage if everything crumbled terrified her. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/32 "2009-07-08T07:11:18Z")
> [@Ruby\_G](#): > > 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. You must have never listened to his music… the kid is not his son. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/33 "2009-07-08T07:14:30Z")
But I thought she said that he was the one. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/34 "2009-07-08T07:47:53Z")
Well, Billie Jean is not his lover. ---
**Author:** ![King\_Bobo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@King\_Bobo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Bobo)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/35 "2009-07-08T08:07:14Z")
I don’t get it you Dopers making fun. Paris saw her Father’s coffin and saw and heard him eulogized. This was the poor child’s FATHER being laid to rest. Whatever you may think of him has no relevance at this time. She and her siblings had the misfortune to see their only known parent buried. Where is your compassion for them? ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/36 "2009-07-08T08:48:10Z")
Is there some new law requiring an empty line between each sentence we type? I hadn’t heard about that yet. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/37 "2009-07-08T11:02:18Z")
> [@King\_Bobo](#): > > I don’t get it you Dopers making fun. It’s what we do here. Also, all your base are belong to us. > [@](#): > > Paris saw her Father’s coffin and saw and heard him eulogized. In front of every celebrity they could find as well as twenty thousand of his [del]closest[/del] luckiest fans and those who bought tickets off of Ebay. > [@](#): > > This was the poor child’s FATHER being laid to rest. At the STAPLES CENTER. > [@](#): > > Whatever you may think of him has no relevance at this time. As we’re nothing but a bunch of anonymous weirdos over the internet, it doesn’t have much relevance at any time. We share anyways. We’re nice like that. > [@](#): > > She and her siblings had the misfortune to see their only known parent buried. Which is tragic. > [@](#): > > Where is your compassion for them? Sorry there wasn’t a thread titled “Those poor Jackson kids” to balance this out. For me, what’s gross isn’t that Paris spoke. It’s gross that she had to do it in a ridiculously public setting surrounded by celebrities, fans, and professional camera whores (I’m looking at you Al Sharpton) in a place where the Lakers, Clippers, and Kings play basketball and hockey. I’m fucking surprised that the red carpet for the funeral wasn’t covered by Joan Rivers. ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/38 "2009-07-08T12:03:04Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > I’m fucking surprised that the red carpet for the funeral wasn’t covered by Joan Rivers. Oh.My._Gawd!_ Did you see Jermaine Jackson’s hair? What is that? SPRAY PAINT? I need to paint some lawn chairs, do you think he’ll lend me some of that? And LaToya, her career’s so dead she tried to sneak it into the coffin. And then there’s Janet. Janet’s been out of the news so long she was planning another “wardrobe malfunction” during the eulogy. OH.MY._GAWD!!!_ Don’t get me started! ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/39 "2009-07-08T12:24:05Z")
> [@King\_Bobo](#): > > She and her siblings had the misfortune to see their only known parent buried. > > Where is your compassion for them? Plenty of people have expressed sadness for the children, even stating that they were crying while watching Paris speak. It does not make him any less dead is people don’t jokingly post a line or two from his songs that fit nicely with the conversation. I’ve never understood the need to separate grief from laughter so completely. Grief and joy are two valid emotions, equally genuine, equally human. It’s not a zero-sum game. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/40 "2009-07-08T12:56:12Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > 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. The issue is not putting her up to the mike. The issue is the insane amount of airtime being given to Michael Jackson’s death. His life seems to be best described by the term “freak show”. His death deserved mention on the day it happened and nothing more. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275.md?page=3)