Paris Jackson speaks

It is a lot of attention for a little girl. She didn't have to speak at the service. But she is old enough, that she might have wanted to. She won't regret doing it, and nobody is going to give her any grief for this. He was her Daddy, and despite everything else Michael Jackson went through, that love is real. His kids may have been the only ones to really love him as he was.

I don't know. She's been so isolated for so long that it was probably liberating for her. (Especially since she didn't have to wear a mask.)

I didn't get the impression that she was coerced. After all, her brothers didn't say anything.

I saw no evidence that she was being compelled to speak. Indeed, when she was unable to go on, the Jackson family members quickly escorted her away from the podium. I think that at 11 years old, she's old enough to make the decision herself. And even if it was at all traumatic for her, it can't be more than a drop in the bucket compared to losing her father. I've seen kids her age speak at more conventional funerals. As long as it's voluntary, I don't have the slightest problem with it.

yeah it looked spontaneous and her decision and the family did rather quickly end that segment - I thought it was okay cause she clearly seemed to want to say it. It did seem like those kids are close to their family and are loved in return which is encouraging in that one thinks they have been through enough already - and if the custody battles begin - they will be put through even more. I have been to "normal" funerals where 10 -12 year old kids spoke re: parents or grandparents.

I don't think the family made her do that, either. It was probably the most real momement from the memorial service. It also humanized Michael. In that moment he was neither a wacko nor a messiah: he was a daddy.

That was the only part of the memorial that I saw. Actually, that and Lionel Ritchie performing "Jesus is Love," which is one of my favorite gospel songs.

I thought it was Sarah Palin's idea...

I think the kid probably wanted to speak, and perhaps since so many of his "close" friends were given that chance, it was right to allow her, as someone with cause for actual tears, to speak as well. But as someone on another Jackson thread put it, the whole televised spectacle was emotional pornography, an orgy of togetherness so shallow it was phony, and the family should have grieved in private.

I don't think it was appropriate for them to allow an 11-year-old girl to speak in front of 20,000 people and in front of a worldwide audience, no, or for her and her brothers to appear at said memorial, much less sing on stage. She should have attended the private memorial and stayed off the stage during the public memorial. What they've done is made her even more of a public figure than she was already fated to become and given the media footage to play over and over and over again if there's a custody battle or a battle for control of their inheritance. This is such a public, famously screwed up family that maybe it seemed normal and natural for them to give this child a chance to perform and speak to the public at her dad's funeral. Maybe the child herself has heard the news stories and wanted to tell off the media and everyone else who called her daddy weird. But it was NOT appropriate or in her best interests. A three-hour televised memorial service was an exercise in excess and fake emotion anyway. Honestly, I think they should not have held the public memorial and held a dignified, private funeral instead where the children could grieve without having millions of people scrutinizing their every word, move and feature to decide if they're biologically related to Debbie Rowe and Michael Jackson. Bad, bad idea.

The real shocker here is that I completely agree with Erin!

I've pretty successfully avoided the spectacle surrounding Jackson's death but inadvertently caught a bit of this while channel surfing last night. Now, I've seen it twice, since I watched it before commenting.

I highly doubt that was the fulfillment of a spontaneous wish on the part of the child. And even if it was, it should not have been indulged.

Mr. Dreher nails it again: "Those black people do some crazy things -- we'd never let anything like that happen in our neighborhood."

Horst, I think celebrity worship is a pretty shallow kind of love and goodwill.

Why would you not want them to experience the love and goodwill of so many people? Weird.

Uh... because the "love" and goodwill of strangers will not sustain them in life and living your life on the public stage is demonstrably harmful.

Any reasonable person who's seen this clip can't help but feel that this was a pure heartfelt expression. Ron, is the summer heat warping your crunchy conservative brain? The Jackson family "put her up to it"? Gimme a f***in break.

On second thought, I'm very intrigued how this Michael Jackson phenomenon brings out a liberal-conservative divide. It's funny. Many (but of course, not all) liberal or independent thinkers reflect on the joy that Michael Jackson has brought to people's lives through his art and humanitarian work. Liberals, it should be said, are pretty much optimists when it comes to viewing the human condition. On the other hand, if you are a conservative, you are likely to assume the worst of Michael Jackson, in a way not so different from a conservative's mostly Hobbesian view of human nature.

Many conservatives -- but again, not all; I don't want to overgeneralize -- they rush to judgment with Jackson, that he was a pedophile even if he was never convicted of such charges, etc.. Most liberals will overlook Jackson's undeniably bizarre behavior for something much more meaningful: the love and faith that he had in the human spirit. Conservatives just can't go there because of the cynical way they're wired. It's their loss, ultimately. How can people go through life so eternally suspicious of others not like themselves?

Any reasonable person

Wouldn't assume that she just happened to find her way onstage.

Oh, for crying out loud. Sure looked to me like a little girl who wanted to say something about her daddy. Might I humbly suggest that unless you've been a small child who's lost a parent, you don't know what the h*** you're talking about and should probably leave this one alone?

Sorry. My own father died when I was nine--been there, done that--and I had to fight to be allowed to view his body. All the fighting I could muster wasn't enough to be allowed to attend the funeral, and I'm still angry about it. Kids need to grieve too, y'know? Let the girl have her say.

What a circus. When I saw those witches surrounding that little girl and pushing her on to speak into the mike; I thought — how pathetic is this. Using this little girls grief to promote Michael Jacksons future legacy and profits. And the Media bought right into it. Lets face it , The jackson 5 would have been a musical footnote to pop history if it weren’t for Michael. He was the whole show.
Once his name began to come into question due to his own remarks regarding children in his bed the whole money making business began to go down the tube. Now with his death there is the chance that his family and estate can cash in . but not without first making him out to be a truly great father to his children. So what better way to promote him then to have Paris come up on stage , —This poor 11 year old girl.— and coach her into saying how great her dad was in life. I think that family is pathetic. Along with there high fashion mourning statement with the hats and dark glasses....Please give me a break. The whole thing made me sick. I wont deny that Michael was a great pop star in life, But to turn his death into a media circus is pathetic.
Michael Jackson, the father that he was always shielded his children from the media .
And to think that his 11 year old daughter would want to stand up in front of millions seems highly improbable. I ‘ll be willing to bet that in ten years she will be telling Night Line the real story of why she was put up on that stage. I’m sure she believed what she said but I don’t think she really wanted to be up there.

I had mixed feelings too. I hope this will help Paris achieve some kind of closure and she may have wanted to speak directly to the crowd over the adults objections. Who knows? But, it was deeply moving and the most sincere tribute to M.J.

I found it less offensive than Brooke Shields grandstanding as though she was Jackson's best friend. She hadn't seen him since 1991.

As a mother of three young women, I can tell you the body language of all involved shows the child was prompted, if not forced, to speak. If you watch the clip, she looks at the adult male with a look of distress and entreaty... not a lip reader, but would be curious what she said. "Do I have to?" .. "I don't want to" ?

The adults intimidating her with closeness.. hands in her face, holding the microphone... if what they wanted to convey was simply a young girl paying tribute to her day.. they missed by a bit. What I saw.. and friends who have discussed agree... was a strange attempt to say to the public.. "see??? he was a normal person"

How sad that someone who guarded his children to the point of obsession was ultimately betrayed by his own family who has made them a public spectacle.

To paris
hi i am so sorry you hat to go throw that i am from irealand and the same age as you talk to me any time you are a pretty girl and you should always have your dad in your heart we all loved your dad and your really pretty write back love nikitaxxxxxxxxx

hello my name is sebastien, I have 14 years, my home is in france the city is Hirel, in Ile et Vilaine, I am like you I was moved by paris jackson I know what I am saying has nothing do with the tribute but since I've seen paris j jackson I resent feeling love.I know that for some people I will look stupid,but I don t care.I love that you go see it and tell him what I've said. I hope you will thank you if you do .thank you