# Michael Jackson Memorial Service **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 7, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220 "2009-07-07T17:35:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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 7, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/41 "2009-07-07T22:26:15Z")
His kids from all accounts really do seem remarkably well mannered/adjusted. I read another account from a while ago where Lenny Kravitz said he met them and they were super polite but not in a scary Children of the Corn way, more like in a well behaved way. Despite all the speculation about how their lives must have been weird, it seems like they really would have done their daddy proud. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/42 "2009-07-07T22:29:29Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > They should have had the two ‘world healing’ songs at the end. Having the family speak after the songs was anti-climatic. The producer of this memorial service told CNN that the family speaking at the very end was unscripted and unplanned. He said the family was asked if they wanted to say thank you afterward and it just kind of happened.They didn’t even know that the kids would be up there too, let alone speak. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/43 "2009-07-07T22:30:19Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > marlon with his asking micheal to hug his twin and paris, good heavens, paris… those 2 were the ones who really got to me. I missed some of this part. Who is Paris? I’m guessing his daughter is named after her? ---
**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 7, 2009, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/44 "2009-07-07T22:32:00Z")
> [@BiblioCat](#): > > I missed some of this part. Who is Paris? I’m guessing his daughter is named after her? Paris is his daughter ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/45 "2009-07-07T22:38:23Z")
Ah. I was thinking he was asking Michael to hug his twin \*\*and \*\* someone else named Paris. Reading for comprehension always good… ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/46 "2009-07-07T22:45:57Z")
sorry, i was still a bit verklempt when i posted. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/47 "2009-07-07T22:57:32Z")
> [@xanthous](#): > > The producer of this memorial service told CNN that the family speaking at the very end was unscripted and unplanned. He said the family was asked if they wanted to say thank you afterward and it just kind of happened.They didn’t even know that the kids would be up there too, let alone speak. Yeah, that makes more sense. I’m sure they wanted to end the show on the upbeat note of all the little children holding hands and singing about how beautiful the world could be instead of the daughter crying. But that’s show biz. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/48 "2009-07-07T23:04:24Z")
I missed several parts of it, but found it very moving and beautiful. Did Prince come on? I had heard he’d be there, but I don’t think he was, and I find it strange that he wasn’t there and hasn’t even spoken on it, AFAIK. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/49 "2009-07-07T23:10:17Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > I missed several parts of it, but found it very moving and beautiful. > > Did Prince come on? I had heard he’d be there, but I don’t think he was, and I find it strange that he wasn’t there and hasn’t even spoken on it, AFAIK. There were, out of respect I would guess, no shots of any celebrities in the crowd. Only shots of the family. (I saw Larry King but only because he was sitting behind the family) I thought it was very tastefully done. ---
**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 7, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/50 "2009-07-07T23:14:33Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Wait until the end. His daughter spoke and broke everyone’s hearts. > > ☹ I think even the people making the crudest jokes paused at that. Whatever he did, whoever he really was, whatever his legacy, biological or not – he was her and her brothers’ father. And now he’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![Winnie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e480ec/32.png) [@Winnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnie)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/51 "2009-07-07T23:26:15Z")
That poor little girl and her brothers. I think all the years of MJ putting up with all the ridicule, the shame, the jokes, the rumors, the accusations went out the window when Paris took the stage. He was REAL, not a punchline. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/52 "2009-07-07T23:29:27Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > I think even the people making the crudest jokes paused at that. Whatever he did, whoever he really was, whatever his legacy, biological or not – he was her and her brothers’ father. And now he’s gone. I think he really was Peter Pan. He was a ‘boy that never grew up’. I think there was probably tickling and roughhousing and pillow fights and such, but that’s the sort of thing little boys do. I’m inclined to believe that there was no sexual contact. What about the ‘Jesus juice’? Little boys like to be ‘bad’, to ‘get away with things’. Maybe it was a case of ‘Shhh! We’re drinking wine! Tee hee hee hee!’ Of course that doesn’t keep me from telling the jokes. 😉 Even though I’m all evil and have been known to tell MJ jokes, I really did feel a bit sorry for him. Paris just about broke my heart. We all know Michael Jackson is dead. Many of us think it’s a shame. But to Paris, MJ is her daddy. And she will never have her daddy again. Ever. I was a lot older than she when my dad died. I still miss him. My heart goes out to her and her siblings. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/53 "2009-07-07T23:32:29Z")
I got 2 frickin’ CNN Breaking News alerts about it! > [@](#): > > 12:55 Michael Jackson’s golden coffin is placed in front of the stage as his memorial service gets under way in Los Angeles. > [@](#): > > 2:53 At memorial service in L.A., Michael Jackson’s daughter Paris says he was “the best father you could ever imagine.” Neither of these qualifies as breaking news or merited an alert. ---
**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 7, 2009, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/54 "2009-07-07T23:34:19Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > Neither of these qualifies as breaking news or merited an alert. Is it urgent? No, but it’s something that meant a lot to a lot of people around the world. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/55 "2009-07-07T23:38:18Z")
I thought one of the best lines was when Rev. Sharpton said, “…and I want his 3 children to know: Wasn’t nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with. But he dealt with it anyway. He dealt with it for us.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/56 "2009-07-07T23:38:22Z")
I had to chuckle when Stevie Wonder said he never thought he’d see this day. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/57 "2009-07-07T23:48:08Z")
I think the Stevie Wonder performance was probably the most beautiful of them all. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/58 "2009-07-07T23:49:30Z")
> [@xanthous](#): > > I think the Stevie Wonder performance was probably the most beautiful of them all. I’ll have to agree with others and vote for _Smile_. (But I was working, so I was mostly listening rather than watching.) ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/59 "2009-07-07T23:55:22Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’ll have to agree with others and vote for _Smile_. (But I was working, so I was mostly listening rather than watching.) Yeah, they probably tied. I’m a sucker for the real, real sad songs! ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/60 "2009-07-08T00:01:54Z")
For those who missed it at work and wanted to see a lot of it, MSNBC as most of the parts mentioned above in their video clips here: [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/31784611#31784611](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/31784611#31784611) Marlon talking about seeing him at the music store made me smile. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220.md?page=4)