Saying Michael Jackson had issues is a little like saying there are seven days in the week. Ya think?
Having said that, and being a person who will admit to being torn about the King of Pop, someone who admired his music while questioning his bizarre lifestyle, I can also admit this: The memorial service to honor him on Tuesday was mesmerizing.
I know people are going to question offering this kind of treatment to a person who carried the kind of baggage Jackson did. There are those who simply will sniff that the whole thing was a perfect example of media overkill.
And even after all that, it was hard to look away.
All of this culminated at the end of the service, when Jackson’s 11-year-old daughter approached the microphone.
At first I felt a touch of revulsion that a child would be put in that position. Then I heard what she had to say. I’ll leave it to others to argue whether or not it was exploitive. All I know is that I couldn’t take my eyes off the TV.
“Ever since I was born,” Paris-Michael Jackson said in a cracking voice, “Daddy has been the best father I could imagine. I just want to say I love him so much.”
It was all she could do to get the words out before collapsing into the arms of her aunt, Janet Jackson.
Tell me you weren’t welling up when you watched that scene.
Hey, I get paid to be impartial, to be cynical, and I’m telling you I was close to tears.
This morning, I can go back to trying to figure out the riddle, the enigma, the mystery that was Michael Jackson.
But for one afternoon, his family, friends and fans provided a service fit for a King.
Having said that, and being a person who will admit to being torn about the King of Pop, someone who admired his music while questioning his bizarre lifestyle, I can also admit this: The memorial service to honor him on Tuesday was mesmerizing.
I know people are going to question offering this kind of treatment to a person who carried the kind of baggage Jackson did. There are those who simply will sniff that the whole thing was a perfect example of media overkill.
And even after all that, it was hard to look away.
All of this culminated at the end of the service, when Jackson’s 11-year-old daughter approached the microphone.
At first I felt a touch of revulsion that a child would be put in that position. Then I heard what she had to say. I’ll leave it to others to argue whether or not it was exploitive. All I know is that I couldn’t take my eyes off the TV.
“Ever since I was born,” Paris-Michael Jackson said in a cracking voice, “Daddy has been the best father I could imagine. I just want to say I love him so much.”
It was all she could do to get the words out before collapsing into the arms of her aunt, Janet Jackson.
Tell me you weren’t welling up when you watched that scene.
Hey, I get paid to be impartial, to be cynical, and I’m telling you I was close to tears.
This morning, I can go back to trying to figure out the riddle, the enigma, the mystery that was Michael Jackson.
But for one afternoon, his family, friends and fans provided a service fit for a King.
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