The whole thing was a stage production. This will be one more thing for the little girl to discuss with her psychiatrist.
While I don’t think Paris’ comments were staged, I do think that those surrounding her played it up to the hilt…
There were a few genuine showings of affection - Paris and Brooke specifically, plus John Mayer’s soulful guitar playing (and he didn’t even know MJ) - but for the most part, I got the feeling of a circus from it. Barry Gordie calling him the greastest entertainer EVER? Al Sharpton’s incredibly rediculous speech? And Magic saying that watching MJ made him a better basketball player? Come the fuck on…
Any bets on how long it takes for the Jackson family to release the “MJ Tribute Concert” CD?
Well, Bill O’Reilly hated it so I officially like it.
Yes, it’s called empathy!
Some of the comments here make me understand why Jackson would be so distrusting of the media and the public. I’ve been to many funerals and memorial services and I’ve heard young children talk before. Why the scrutiny here?
As a former fourth grade teacher (10 year olds), I know that kids this age understand concepts like loyalty. I’m sure Paris has seen and heard the negative press about her dad, despite his attempts to keep her away from this. There’s nothing at all odd or rehearsed about what she said. Simply, that her dad was wonderful to her and she will miss him.
You can see that the kids are processing it differently. The boys seem like they’re still in shock, they haven’t processed the fact that their dad is dead, it seems. Paris seems to get it.
True, but not everyone feels exactly as you do. For a lot of people, I think speaking out and sharing their feelings is what they’d want to do. For others, not so much. I agree that I wouldn’t want to speak out like that at a funeral–I think I’d prefer to mourn privately. But if she wanted to, more power to her.
As to the tackiness of it, who better to speak at a funeral than someone who probably loved him the most and will be the most affected by his loss, one of his own children?
the thing i noticed with regard to paris. the family was starting to turn away from the mic. paris starts to pat her uncles and aunts. one bends down to her, she keeps patting.
kids that age, and younger either pat or tug when they have something very, very, very, important to say, it can be anything from " i gotta go potty" to " i want to say something".
at first there were a few “what sweety/sweethearts?” then an " are you sure?" then paris started talking, and they made sure she was heard by adjusting the mic, and saying “speak up”.
at least that is how i saw it. the patting was the tell to me that she wanted to say something, and her aunts and uncles didn’t plan it. if they planned it she would not have had to pat them.
the youngest holding the “action figure” of his dad was sweet. i bet he doesn’t let that get too far away from him.
No, it’s called “assuming that how I would feel/react to this situation is how everyone would”.
Wow. So sweet and so sad.
I didn’t see the whole thing. Did Janet say anything?
Yeah, those photos are amazing!
So few pictures of him truly smiling.
I noted this too, in looking at those photos, and think it’s more a result of the plastic surgery, where, sadly, though a “youthful” look is preserved, facial expressions are also wiped out. It makes me sad for him, that he was literally making a mask for himself. I have an aunt in So. Cal, who has gone through the same progression, sanctioned by the culture there: Tinier nose, fake lips, nips and tucks all around, until it becomes a mask, as a result, there is no smile, or ability to see the emotion crossing her face. But, as long as she pays, surgeons keep doing the work.
I’m sorry Michael needed to do that, too. I’ve been remembering the young Michael, his sweetness and talent. His kids look healthy and well, and in seeing Paris’ strength of tribute in speaking (that had to be quite scary for her, with such a big crowd and hubbub), hope that best good heart of her Dad will carry her and brothers through the hard times coming.
I was wondering the same thing but there are a couple of pictures where he is actually smiling. My guess is that he was really self-conscious of being photographed and the smile disappeared. The other explanation is that he wasn’t happy.
It’s very possible that his kids were raised by a nanny and their exposure to their father boiled down to play time with an emotionally arrested adult (Peter Pan in Never Never Land). If Michael’s mother is smart she will hire the nanny back who spent the most time with the kids as a stable adult figurehead.
I was wondering how much time they actually spent with him…but from Paris’s reaction, she at least must have really loved him.
All reports from folks who came around said he was a very hands on father (SHUT UP, GUYS:p). Remember: he really hasn’t worked for a while, so he had nothing but time to stay at home with the kids. I guess in some weird way, the demise of his career was good because his kids got to have a full time daddy.
How can a child not like Peter Pan? Chucky Cheese would be slumming compared to their private amusement park. The chef probably made a pretty good grilled cheese sandwich.
It’s nice to think that, for a while, they had a good parent who really cared about them and hopefully was able to give them the childhood he never had. I remember him saying in the documentary with Martin Bashir that he never wanted his kids to feel the way about him that he felt about his own father.
I saw an interview with someone who was at his house once and they said they were surprised when Mike’s kids asked to go on the rides out back and he quickly reminded them that the rides were only for special occasions or if they’ve done exceptionally well on their tests. I thought that was actually surprisingly normal and adorable.
Well I would have thought that the grief of a child for her father was pretty universal!