Well I had to fight my way to Liverpool St Station this evening because of a flash mob "honouring" Michael Jackson - see http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Showbiz-News/Michael-Jackson-London-Liverpool-Street-Flash-Mob-Gathering-Hundreds-Dance-In-Memory-Of-King-Of-Pop/Article/200906415320917?f=rss

Didn't make me feel anything other than angry/sad that I couldn't catch my train :(

I still feel very disturbed that people will still hold him in this 'icon' light when he paid millions of pounds to settle a civil case against him. Yes he was cleared in the courts ( I wonder how much was paid to silence people but the way he lived his life and what on earth will his children be like post his death. Those poor children :-(

ahh but what a turn out,
would have been a better idea to have done it in Hyde park or traffalgar square,

i take it you didnt stick around to have a go at the moon walking then?

Yes he was cleared in the courts Precisely!!

I hope now that a true musical genius can be at peace. 

RIP Michael.  Bless you and your family.

>Yes he was cleared in the courts

So was OJ Simpson ...

> I still feel very disturbed that people will still hold him in this 'icon' light when he paid millions of pounds to settle a civil case against him.

We can only speculate whether or not the allegations were true - the court threw them out, and while that doesn't necessarily mean they didn't happen, neither does it mean they did. 

None of us are perfect and I hate the current fashion of giving 'icon' and 'superstar' status to people in the public eye however talented, however there was no doubt he was enormously talented and gave his music and dance and hope and inspiration to millions around the world.  That will be his legacy and something we should celebrate and be grateful for.

If you have enough money to can buy people's silences by making them instant millionaires.    There were 2 psychologists on Jeremy Vine's Radio 2 programme yesterday and both said they would have never left their children with Michael Jackson..........

i understand were your coming from but i do have a problem with the fact that if it was all true then how could any parent execpt a pay off , i find this hard as if it were my children then i could never ever ever execpt money to stay silent i wouldnt care if i was sleeping in the gutter i would want the truth to come out and justice served , i could never have let anyone pay my off over something like that could you?

saying that people do the wierdest things ,

Jackson was still a great musical talent its a great shame all the bad stuff ever came about true or not,

looks like their will be a battle for custody of his children now thats sad

how this for prisononers reform lol

this is great .

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2502888/Thriller-the-best-Michael-Jackson-tribute-dances.html

Here here chelzeagirl.  There is no way, if my child had been subjected to such a heinous crime, that I would accept a payout.  I would fight tooth and nail until justice was done.

I don't think anyone can speculate over what did or did not happen, but whether you liked him or not, his family have been subjected to a tragic loss, and I believe he should be allowed to rest, and his family to grieve, in peace.

Sorry I'm not a MJ fan either.  He admitted to sleeping in the same bed as children if that had of been a Joe Public they would of been put in prison for quite some time and no-one would of wanted their children near him.

Anyway, that said, I believe that many in the medical profession should be looked into for MJ's short and tragic life, from the plastic surgeons who made him look the way he did and taking his money from him.  To the GP (who does look as though he's being looked into already as his car was impounded etc) to everyone else in the medical profession who allowed him to become the equivalent to a size 6 UK woman.  This must of been doing many things to his internal organs.

Another sad case like Karen Carpenter and Elvis Presley. 

Hopefully his children will lead a more normal life now, although recently they were allowed out without masks on so it looks as though he may have been going that way.  The two that we see regularly I believe have always been in touch with their mother. 

I hope that he now rests in peace.

I too feel that only parents with their eyes on the dollars would leave a child with someone like MJ.   However "innocent" it might all have been, his treatment of children was inappropriate.

I too feel that only parents with their eyes on the dollars would leave a child with someone like MJ.   However "innocent" it might all have been, his treatment of children was inappropriate.

then in this case just what sort of parents are they that would choose money over their own childs safety i find that shocking and shamefull of the parents,

Me too, I've always protested his innocence.  As previously said, if he'd done something terrible to your child, you'd want him locked up so he couldn't do it again.  Those parents who let their children sleep there were, in my opinion, looking for an easy buck.

How can any grown man share a bed with children(not his own), and say it's okay it's sweet??????

Karen :(

Brilliant artist with a seriously troubled mind.   Regardless of the claims the fact he was found not guilty to me was enough.

I think he was brilliant. Just wished he could have gotten help.

Do you think if he's was doing stuff to them he'd have said that?   I honestly don't believe he was capable.  I think he was asexual.  After all, weren't his children with Debbie Rowe conceived by IVF?  I think Martin Bashir's interview was edited to show him in a bad light. And, at the end of the day, would you let your children stay overnight (or even visit for that matter) someone who had been accused of child molestation, regardless of the result?  These parents were out to make money from him.  Rightly or wrongly, I truly believe he was trying to live the childhood he never had by surrounding himself with children and behaving like one.

He was a grown up, with grown up responsibilities and I would not make allowances for a single other person, particularly one with a whole army of 'friends family and advisors.
It is the responsibility od 'grown ups' to act as such and protect innocent children.
I can see no way to change my views or make excuses for any reasonably intelligent 'grown up'.

Karen

Likewise if Michael Jackson knew he was totally innocent then he would have had nothing to fear by going to trial.

I always thought that the parents of those children,especially the ones who Michael favoured knew exactly why he wanted to have their children with him.They hired their children out to him to be his companions and playmates,I think.I  He seemed totally naive about the possible dangerous nature of such relationships.The parents should have been prosecuted for taking money in out of court settlements if they thought their children had been abused in any way,and the police surely should not have allowed a case involving possible abuse to escape criminal proceedings.I could never,never accept money for my child's innocence,if I thought for a nanosecond that someone had hurt them.In the absence of any other evidence to the contrary,I think he was an individual damaged by the overpowering fame he had.I forgot he was 50,I just see him as ageless and sexless.Those who knew him say he was a gentle soul,I think he probably was,so R I P Michael.

He was a grown up, with grown up responsibilities

your talking about a Man who at age 5 was performing for his parents theirs no doubt that  all of the Jackson kids have never had any kind of normal upbringing they spent their whole childhoods rehearsing and never were allowed to behave like children should behave ,
thats  why i belive michael was always searching for the childhood he never had but sadly all the fun fairs , circus animals and the gimics he had were never enough ,
i just think that no matter how many young things you surround yourself with your never going to get the same feeling you would have had as a child when experincing it all as a child for the first time, i think he was a very lost soul, and people took him for a ride when it comes to hes generosity,

as for his kids i dont think they were his full stop wernt Debbie AI with a doner sperm ,
all have blonde hair and are clearly white ,
i think he created his kids in the image he wanted for himself by choosing his doners carfully Debbie being just the carrier of them,

and before i get alot of comebacks on my last comment i am blonde fair skined and have 2 mixed race children my eldests dad looks just like Michael in his OFFthe WAll album days and you can tell my son is half black!

asexua did you mean bisexual?
maybe he was Gay lets face it George Michael didnt come out till very late in his career,

i was a wham fan BIG TIME!!!!!! even bunked off school to be in their wake me up before you go go video ,
i heard they were holding auditions at brixton acadamy while i was getting ready for school one morning on capital radio so me and a mate bunked off went down and joined the masses, you can see the corner of my head and eye all for 3 seconds in the vid was a big thing in them days lol

asexua did you mean bisexual?
maybe he was Gay lets face it George Michael didnt come out till very late in his career,

i was a wham fan BIG TIME!!!!!! even bunked off school to be in their wake me up before you go go video ,
i heard they were holding auditions at brixton acadamy while i was getting ready for school one morning on capital radio so me and a mate bunked off went down and joined the masses, you can see the corner of my head and eye all for 3 seconds in the vid was a big thing in them days lol

Tell me how could anyone ever not have loved this little chap! lol how great was he,
a natural perfomer sadly it scared his mental health ,

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/showbiz/xs/379097/Highlights-from-the-MTV-stars-amazing-40-year-career.html

> asexua did you mean bisexual?

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Asexual

I think this was meant:
2. free from or unaffected by sexuality: an asexual friendship. 

thanks for that brainless got to say thats a new word for me iv never heard that before ,
never to old to learn a new word :-)

all have blonde hair and are clearly white.

Blonde hair? Really?

yes really

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1190721/Unmasked-A-rare-glimpse-Michael-Jacksons-kids-faces-visit-recording-studio.html

i belive the younger child in your pic has had her hair dyed look at her eyebrows quite a bit lighter in colour than her hair wouldnt you say,

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/19/103923779_dc57cc8c5c.jpg

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/02_01/jacksonDM0802_468x416.jpg

ok maybe im wrong about the hair dying of blanket her dont her eyes look black in this pic

http://www.popcornnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/blanketjackson.jpg

it was stated by Debbie the first 2 childrens mother that a donor sperm was used and not jackson, Blankets has another  surrogate mother

just found a story on her
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-513206/My-life-mother-Michael-Jacksons-children-Debbie-Rowe.html

Blanket's a boy ...

> your talking about a Man who at age 5 was performing for his parents theirs no doubt that  all of the Jackson kids have never had any kind of normal upbringing they spent their whole childhoods rehearsing and never were allowed to behave like children should behave ,
>

There are lots of other celebrities who have been thrust into the limelight at a younga ge. Some have gone off the rails to some degree but never down the path of child abuse. take Charlotte church, Britney Spears, the Nolan Sisters....

Then there's the Osmonds, Shirley Temple ... there are plenty of child stars who've grown up to be completely normal. And let's not forget the rest of the Jackson 5 who had the same upbringing as their brother!

lol i know i was just going to say that Gosh them poor kids , well She, opps i mean He looks like a girl with all that hair lol

you see how confusing the Jackson world is
i just read that after the birth of one of his kids he took the baby still all bloody and the placenta to :-O
Why would anyone do that , i know some people have been known to eat this but please dont tell me yuk its to early

i guess that since we only get to hear what the papers want to right that we will never really know whats what with him but the more i read the more it sound like that Earl may have something with when he said
I think he was asexual.

that was a new word on me but on looking in up it sound about right,

Ahh Shirley Temple i loved her as a kid ,

yes i no what your saying but the man has always had issues i mean he looked his best in the Off the Wall album days , then i think he must have had a nose job come thriller and after that it all went a off the wall for him ,
its a shame as their no doubt he was a great performer and singer and has done so many amazing records,
dont know about any of you but iv been hearing his music everywhere iv been this weekend,

Cairnmania,
I agree, I hope the people that have plagued him are now happy, They will be there making a quick buck. His music will be missed a great voice.
What a waste!!

Denese

The newspapers make me sick   They are just like vultures when someone famous dies.  Watch all the 'tell all' books appearing too. :(  I would rather remember the man for his huge talent, sadly gone way too soon.

Hope his kids don't get squabbled over and split up.

If he'd had any sense he'd have made a will appointing a legal guardian for them. It's something every parent should do, not just the rich and famous.

Maybe he did, let's hope so.

Shirley Temple got out of the business in good form and became American Ambassador to France,I think.She's still going strong as far as I know.She was such a sweet little girl,she was brilliant in that Laurel and Hardy film where Stan is telling her a story.

Plenty of child stars who also have not grown up to be completely normal too. 
Judy Garland, Robert Blake, Gary Coleman, Drew Barrymore, Leif Garrett.
Depends on some people's definition of normal too I suppose.
There's always a balance.  There are always going to be those who have had problems and those who have not.
To my mind that makes ''stars'' the same as you or me.  HUMAN.

Again, RIP MJ

I find this adulation utterly proposterous. As a parent, I find it disgusting. If he was anybody else, he'd have been in jail years ago.

I said before the 02 concerts would never happen - he was not close to being capable
of these dates, but still, wasn't quite the cancellation announcement I was expecting.

A total whack-job.

He was tried and found innocent.

That aside, as a parent I'm sure you wouldn't let your child stay with him, which draws me back to the point that the parents of those children were out to exploit him.

Yes, as was already pointed out, so was OJ Simpson. His trial was a farce too. Neither verdict has anything to do with justice.

As to the parents, I don't disagree, they were white-trash. But that does not excuse his conduct.

I find the adulation being heaped on him now repulsive.

I guess it's pretty hard to avoid the subject of MJ at the moment, but perhaps if one is repulsed, one could choose not to read topics entitled Michael Jackson ... Dead?
Just a suggestion :)

Why? Is it a thread for pro-messages only? Is one's opinion somehow less valid?

> Is one's opinion somehow less valid?

But it is the manner that opinion is worded, the only person who really knew what happened in dead & unable to defend himself. There was a court case & the verdict was not guilty-are you suggesting that the jury was "bought"or similar ?

I wasn't a fan(as in fanatical follower)but liked some of the music he produced. I don't "worship"anyone not pop singers, politicians, "celebrities", etc I like music that some musicians produce, I'm sad when anyone's life ends prematurely, especially if they haven't had the best of times during their lifetime.

The guy is dead & cannot defend himself & all the surmising going on around his "alleged"child abuse will not alter that nor will it stop other money hungry parents exploiting their children for pecuniary gain & selfish considerations. It happened before he lived & will continue whilst the world is more interested in possessions that quality of life.

> Why? Is it a thread for pro-messages only? Is one's opinion somehow less valid?

Absolutely not, I didn't mention opinions, just that if one isn't keen on the pro-messages, perhaps one shouldn't read threads that are titled with the persons name who causes you such revulsion is all. :)

> Plenty of child stars who also have not grown up to be completely normal too..........There are always going to be those who have had problems and those who have not.
>To my mind that makes ''stars'' the same as you or me.  HUMAN.

I think the thing with 'stars' is they can easily detatch thierselfs from the 'normal' world. Many children loose thier childhhood to caring for ill/disabled parents or suffering extreme povery, abuse, homelessness, yet as they are not 'stars', they have little choice but to grow up to be 'normal' as that is the only way to make it in the 'real' world.

I'm not a MJ fan, but echo moonmaidens comments about anybody having thier life cut short being tragic, weather they have had a rough life or not. RIP MJ

I think MJ yearned to be the child he never was and tried to recreate his ideal of the perfect childhood. I think he tried to give other children the childhood he never had and was very naive in his dealings with them - he behaved towards them as he wished his own parents would have been with him and thus created situations that although normal between parent and child would be totally inappropriate for any other adult. He was an easy target for those who wished to prosper from his naivety and I would imagine that the various allegations made against him did much to break an already fragile person.