# 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:** 5
**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, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/81 "2009-07-08T05:36:01Z")
They are quite sweet, **Kayeby**. I remember hearing him say that line about the “little cart thingies” in some interview and thinking it was rather adorable. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/82 "2009-07-08T05:43:11Z")
Very creepy and cynical all at once. He so wanted to be Elvis but just never could be. Everyone else at it is either delussional or looking to up their profile. ---
**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, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/83 "2009-07-08T11:11:53Z")
> [@xanthous](#): > > I think the Stevie Wonder performance was probably the most beautiful of them all. I’m a huge Stevie fan. I missed the live airing of his contribution to the service, but when I saw it on the news, I thought it kinda sucked. This bums me out to no end. ☹ The love came through, but the performance was a huge miss for me. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/84 "2009-07-08T11:58:27Z")
> [@Kayeby](#): > > You might be interested in [these](http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=98326918727&view=all) Facebook pictures that I found linked to on another site. A whole bunch of candids with Michael Jackson, his kids, and some family friends. > > . The pic of Michael wearing a Michael Jackson t-shirt is just funny. ---
**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, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/85 "2009-07-08T14:03:56Z")
I found the statement by Jackson’s daughter to be very cold and rehearsed. She starts out with “Ever since I was born.” No one talks that way. She was obviously reading something someone wrote for her to say. She was surrounded by a bunch of Jacksons who wearing sun glasses and hats to cover their eyes, so you couldn’t see what they were doing, all seemed to compress up against the girl. She closes her eyes takes a breath and then as she’s exhaling seems to spew out a statement she memorized not felt. It didn’t look realistic to me. Then Mariah Carey with her “slut” dress. C’mon who wears a dress cut down to their waist held up only by hope, to a dead man’s memorial service? ---
**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, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/86 "2009-07-08T14:07:17Z")
Well, yeah, she could have written something ahead of time. Why do you think she herself couldn’t have? It seems about right for twelve. And no one talks that way normally, no, but it’s a funeral. People say odd things. I don’t see what’s so out there about that. ---
**Author:** ![Sparrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Sparrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparrow)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/87 "2009-07-08T14:41:46Z")
So was I the only one who wondered whether it reall WAS his daughter speaking rather than a child actor? After all he took great pains to make sure that nobody ever knew what they looked like. And I think it’s rather callous to expect such an over-protected little girl, who’s only just lost her father, to appear in public for the first time at such a time and make a speech like that. Maybe that’s just me and I am cynical, genuinely don’t want to offend anyone here. 😕 ---
**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, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/88 "2009-07-08T14:42:33Z")
Well, she did ask to make the speech on her own. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/89 "2009-07-08T15:02:57Z")
Man, some people are acting like\* assholes here. She bursts out into sobs while trying to remember her father and people say it sounds rehearsed? Or asking if she was _a child actor_ instead of his real daughter? Goddamn. I find that disgusting. - not saying they ARE, but acting LIKE. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/90 "2009-07-08T15:09:48Z")
**Kayeby** , thanks for the link. I thought just the opposite about Paris. She didn’t seem rehearsed to me at all. “Ever since I was born” is what any 12-year-old might start with, in describing how they feel about a parent. She only spoke a few sentences and was crying through most of it. And if she was a ringer, she either gave the worst performance ever, or the best. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/91 "2009-07-08T15:19:51Z")
> [@Sparrow](#): > > So was I the only one who wondered whether it reall WAS his daughter speaking rather than a child actor? After all he took great pains to make sure that nobody ever knew what they looked like. And I think it’s rather callous to expect such an over-protected little girl, who’s only just lost her father, to appear in public for the first time at such a time and make a speech like that. > > Maybe that’s just me and I am cynical, genuinely don’t want to offend anyone here. > > 😕 Yes, you are the only one. ---
**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, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/92 "2009-07-08T15:22:20Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I thought just the opposite about Paris. She didn’t seem rehearsed to me at all. “Ever since I was born” is what any 12-year-old might start with, in describing how they feel about a parent. She only spoke a few sentences and was crying through most of it. And if she was a ringer, she either gave the worst performance ever, or the best. Yeah. It was very from the heart. And as someone else–don’t know if it was this or the other thread on Paris Jackson’s speech–said, for the world (and Joe Jackson), it’s about losing a superstar. For Paris and her brothers, it’s losing the only parent they ever knew. Not that people who knew him as an entertainer didn’t admire or love his work, but that’s nothing like the loss that a young child feels. This is genuinely heartbreaking. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/93 "2009-07-08T16:43:42Z")
> [@Sparrow](#): > > So was I the only one who wondered whether it reall WAS his daughter speaking rather than a child actor? After all he took great pains to make sure that nobody ever knew what they looked like. And I think it’s rather callous to expect such an over-protected little girl, who’s only just lost her father, to appear in public for the first time at such a time and make a speech like that. > > Maybe that’s just me and I am cynical, genuinely don’t want to offend anyone here. > > 😕 Is this a whoosh? Seriously? You believe this? ---
**Author:** ![Sparrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Sparrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparrow)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/94 "2009-07-08T17:43:36Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > Is this a whoosh? Seriously? You believe this? Serious. I really think it was cruel to expect an 11 year old girl to do that. ---
**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, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/95 "2009-07-08T17:46:28Z")
> [@Sparrow](#): > > Serious. I really think it was cruel to expect an 11 year old girl to do that. They didn’t expect any of the kids to do anything. At the last minute, she said she wanted to say something and she did. Neither of the boys said anything publicly. ---
**Author:** ![planetcory](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/planetcory/32/1032_2.png) [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/96 "2009-07-08T17:55:21Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > They didn’t expect any of the kids to do anything. At the last minute, she said she wanted to say something and she did. Neither of the boys said anything publicly. Also you could kind of see Janet give her the “quiet down” look at first when she was asking. I suspect she’s the biggest handful. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/97 "2009-07-08T17:57:41Z")
> [@Brandus](#): > > Did anyone else think it was borderline tacky? I was hearing a few “Whoo’s!” and “yeah’s!” during Jonh Mayer and the other performances. All while a dead body was just feet away form him. I thought it was all very strange. I haven’t been to many funerals though. Borderline? They passed borderline, backed up, shit on the line and drove on. This was a circus starting with a golden coffin driven over a closed public highway. It was carried by the Blues Brothers to a stage full of entertainers, sports figures, and politicians. All it lacked was a monkey and CNN provided that with a trip to Bobo’s retreat. And to ensure tears were shed they dragged out a little girl in front of ticket holders and cameras as the grand finally. The only thing that could have made it worse was a tribute to his scarecrow character in the Wizard of Oz remake signing “if I only had a brain”. ---
**Author:** ![Sparrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Sparrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparrow)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/98 "2009-07-08T18:04:36Z")
Maybe I am identifying with her a bit, I am female and I lost my father when I was 14, he was 49, after a long illness though, not suddenly, and there is no way that I could have got up and done that. It was hard enough just to go through a small family funeral. So I wonder if there was an element of coercion - people just saying to her “would you like to get up and say something about your Daddy?” and she felt then, she had to - a very vulnerable child wanting to please the people around her after losing the person who meant most? I can only reiterate what I said before, I am horrified that an 11 year old girl who has just lost her father in such tragic circumstances, should be put through that. I know also it’s an American custom, rather more than in the UK, for the family to say their bit about the deceased - but still, an 11 year old?? ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/99 "2009-07-08T18:11:47Z")
> [@Sparrow](#): > > Maybe I am identifying with her a bit, I am female and I lost my father when I was 14, he was 49, after a long illness though, not suddenly, and there is no way that I could have got up and done that. It was hard enough just to go through a small family funeral. > > So I wonder if there was an element of coercion - people just saying to her “would you like to get up and say something about your Daddy?” and she felt then, she had to - a very vulnerable child wanting to please the people around her after losing the person who meant most? I can only reiterate what I said before, I am horrified that an 11 year old girl who has just lost her father in such tragic circumstances, should be put through that. > > I know also it’s an American custom, rather more than in the UK, for the family to say their bit about the deceased - but still, an 11 year old?? Well, obviously, if you personally wouldn’t/couldn’t go up and do something, no other girl would be able to! Did you not read the posts that said how they did not plan for her to say anything and that _she herself_ was asking to say something? I guess it’s just better to project yourself onto the situation instead. ---
**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, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220/100 "2009-07-08T18:14:16Z")
In fact, I remember seeing a clip where she’s talking to one of her uncles who looks like he’s making sure she really means it. And when Marlon(?) finished he said that Janet was going to speak next which makes it seem like he had no idea that the daughter was planning on speaking at all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jackson-memorial-service/502220.md?page=6)