# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![ashman165](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@ashman165](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashman165)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/41 "2009-07-08T13:17:12Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > 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. Then wouldn’t it make sense to only have one direction of emotion at a time? I think that joy and sorrow are opposite emotions, and experience some of each at a time makes it zero-sum. _N’est pas ?_ ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/42 "2009-07-08T13:33:03Z")
No grosser than Bindi Irwin speaking at her dad’s funeral. Since others report that it was heartfelt, I don’t see anything inappropriate about it. Disclaimer: I didn’t watch one minute of the service ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/43 "2009-07-08T13:36:31Z")
If it’s true that his children were the product of anonymous donated sperm and the egg of Debbie Rowe would that make Michael their adoptive father? Either there is some heavily buried adoption paperwork floating out there or some big buck under the table child selling. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/44 "2009-07-08T13:48:29Z")
I didn’t watch the memorial, but checked YouTube on the strength of this thread. Geez - that’s the first time any of this business has touched me, emotionally. Got me good, too. Poor little duck. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/45 "2009-07-08T13:48:30Z")
Moved from The BBQ Pit to Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share. **Gfactor** Pit Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/46 "2009-07-08T13:48:38Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > If it’s true that his children were the product of anonymous donated sperm and the egg of Debbie Rowe would that make Michael their adoptive father? > Either there is some heavily buried adoption paperwork floating out there or some big buck under the table child selling. They don’t require proof of paternity when filling out a birth certificate, except in cases where, for example, one parent is denying paternity. Debbie and Michael were married at the time and signed off on the declaration that they were the parents of the children, so that’s how the births were registered. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/47 "2009-07-08T14:05:14Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > 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. I think it wasn’t just a funeral but also a celebration of MJ’s music and life. It’s public because like a lot of important events in Jackson’s life, his vast fanbase have been very closely involved. I don’t really understand the ‘gross’ quality of having someone’s daughter speak at his funeral regardless of whether it was a planned speech, at a big or small funeral, on television or not. It seems to me to make sense. What I didn’t like about this funeral was how the TV stations keep playing and replaying clips from it, adding their own ‘insightful’/snarky commentary. Michael Jackson fan or not, it was a very nice moment for friends, family, and fans, and the media is really cheapening it. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/48 "2009-07-08T14:22:20Z")
> [@ashman165](#): > > Then wouldn’t it make sense to only have one direction of emotion at a time? > > I think that joy and sorrow are opposite emotions, and experience some of each at a time makes it zero-sum. _N’est pas ?_ Oh hell no! Let’s see, during my father’s funeral, and at the same time (or at least fast enough that I couldn’t separate), I was: angry, happy, snarky, sad, bored, bone-dead tired and I’m probably leaving something out. Several people remarked on how serene I was. It wasn’t so much that I was “serene” as that when your mother is a worse and much more public basket case than usual, one of your brothers is crying his heart out and the other brother along with your uncles keep saying “I knew he was in bad shape but I had no idea he could die” (3 years with cancer) - someone has to hold the door to the wake open 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/49 "2009-07-08T14:37:11Z")
> [@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. The last I heard was that he used donor sperm. No matter…they’re his kids and they all loved each other. Paris speaking at the end was a final attempt to protect her father, as I see it. I saw nothing wrong with her using the opportunity to let the world know first hand that he was not a monster. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/50 "2009-07-08T14:38:38Z")
I lost my parents when I was young (dad at 11 and mum at 16) so it’s not gross for her to speak at a memorial service but the problem lies with the fact that it was so public. This is the first public appearence by any of the Jackson kids. This makes it a media event. To take a private moment and make it such a public spectical is somewhat tacky, but I guess that is my opinion. To add to it, her speech looks like it was written for her and memorized. Look at her “From the day I was born,” no one, especially kids, talks like that. It seemed an obvious attempt to re-enforce the notion she was Jackson’s kid and not “purchased.” She takes a deep breath and spews forth what seems heartfelt but really comes off as rehearsed, surrounded by the Jackson clan all in dark sunglasses or wearing hats down over your eyes. What were they glaring at her to force her to do this? Jackson’s can hardly be held unaccountable because it’s clear both parents used their kids and exploited them as children to make a quick buck. Now they are certainly not the only parents to do this, but it does not make them look good. In a society we have “norms,” but the Jacksons have always basically said “Screw society.” The public should accept us and deal with it. On one hand that might be so, but it’s not the way it works, in the real world. Everything about Jackson’s memorial service, came across as “Keep Michael’s reputation clean so he’ll sell records after his death and we can make money.” It’s not gross a child speaks at a memorial, but to make it the first public speaking of any of the kids, ensure it’s a media event. This comes off as crass explotation of a grieving child. “Look Paris loved her daddy, wasn’t purchased or genetically designed, so Michael Jackson must be good, forget about any molestation charges.” Now whether or not this is so, isn’t the point, but that is how it’s coming off. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/51 "2009-07-08T14:45:58Z")
> [@Cazzle](#): > > Debbie and Michael were married at the time and signed off on the declaration that they were the parents of the children, so that’s how the births were registered. I wasn’t aware of that. How long were they married for? Just long enough for him to be able to put “father” on the birth certificate? Kind of a sneaky way of avoiding the whole adoption paperwork. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/52 "2009-07-08T15:26:29Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I wasn’t aware of that. How long were they married for? Just long enough for him to be able to put “father” on the birth certificate? > Kind of a sneaky way of avoiding the whole adoption paperwork. Married for about three years, from just before Prince Michael I was born until just after Paris’s birth. They wouldn’t have needed to be married to have Michael registered as the father. No one tests to see if the people registering as the parents are indeed biologically related to the child. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/53 "2009-07-08T15:29:09Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Everything about Jackson’s memorial service, came across as “Keep Michael’s reputation clean so he’ll sell records after his death and we can make money.” In what way would it be appropriate to say anything other than positive messages about someone at his funeral? ‘He was a child molester and a creep but made great music anyway’ does not a eulogy make. I don’t even know why I’m getting this peeved. I enjoy Jackson’s music especially from the Thriller era but I’ve never followed his personal life and generally think that he had a lot of psychological issues that needed attention. But to claim that someone’s FUNERAL is insincere because it doesn’t deal with his negative reputation? That’s not the time or place. ---
**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, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/54 "2009-07-08T15:46:35Z")
I saw a few clips of the memorial, but I didn’t see it live. Were Prince and Blanket there too? Did they say anything? ---
**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, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/55 "2009-07-08T15:53:06Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I saw a few clips of the memorial, but I didn’t see it live. Were Prince and Blanket there too? Did they say anything? They were there, but they didn’t speak. Blanket seemed really shy and was hiding between legs, holding a Michael Jackson doll. Beautiful children, all three of them. [Picture](http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5459/memorialservicemichaelja.jpg) [Another](http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/8981/memorialservicemichaelj.jpg) [Another](http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/9211/memorialservicemichaeljb.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/56 "2009-07-08T15:58:50Z")
Like **PunditLisa** , I was reminded of Bindi Irwin speaking at her dad’s memorial. Nothing icky about it. StG ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/57 "2009-07-08T16:17:33Z")
> [@Electric\_Warrior](#): > > What I didn’t like about this funeral was how the TV stations keep playing and replaying clips from it, adding their own ‘insightful’/snarky commentary. Michael Jackson fan or not, it was a very nice moment for friends, family, and fans, and the media is really cheapening it. Were they joking about the GOLD-PLATED CASKET? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/58 "2009-07-08T17:15:10Z")
[The Video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h6nzcOA9xc) There is a level of showmanship to the behavior of the men on the stage; high ick factor. I do think there is honest pain there too, just also a microphone envy so ingrained that they seem to be consciously restraining themselves. Paris’ statement strikes me as just good honest emotion. A moment of true love and a need to state it. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/59 "2009-07-08T19:11:46Z")
> [@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. My wife has a white father and black mother. if you met her you’d never know she was half black. ---
**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, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275/60 "2009-07-08T19:45:47Z")
> [@HongKongFooey](#): > > And LaToya, her career’s so dead she tried to sneak it into the coffin. LaToya? Career? Have we actually reached a point in our culture where one’s DNA actually qualifies as a career? Or is it being the only completely talent-free member of that family and still managing to be famous a career? The creepiest part of all of this is that family. Michael just made the internal weirdness that I think they all share in visible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-as-gross-as-it-seems-for-paris-to-have-spoken/502275.md?page=4)