A memorial service for dying careers of shameless celebs
And, beneath all the spin and publicity, the memorial service of a man some feel was used for the benefit of others since the age of four.
Yesterday, the Michael Jackson memorial service took place at Staples Centre in Los Angeles.
As expected, large periods involved the heart-breaking touch of any service. But far from simply acknowledging Jackson’s controversial life, the event – with live TV coverage and tickets for fans – was just as much about the celebrity hangers- on, tripping over the coffin to promote their own interests.
The memorial service was beamed out live by stations across the world including RTÉ 2 and TV3 and renamed as “The Farewell” by satellite channel Sky, which repeatedly told viewers it was available “in high definition on the Sky News website, Sky Arts HD (channel 258) and Sky News”.
It involved 20,000 fans with festival-type wristbands to let them into the stadium, with guests including Usher, Jennifer Hudson and Mariah Carey – all apparently “close personal friends” of the star.
Another of Jackson’s “close personal friends”, the actress Liz Taylor, attempted to lend some privacy to the occasion by dismissing the service as “public whoopla” and refusing to attend.
“I just don’t believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others,” she explained via her Twitter web page which, true to her message, has just 82,000 readers.
Congratulating the 77-year-old on her privacy, confirmed by her PR agency Guttman Associates, hundreds of fellow Twitter followers – who knew the website could be used for more than just fanning the flames of Iranian revolts? – sent the actress entirely public messages without a hint of irony.
“Finally someone has spoken out and condemned the whole charade. Grief is a very private thing and not for show,” wrote one. Another described her words as “cheap”.
Michael Jackson lived most of his life in the public eye, but even if most of his associates were well-known figures, yesterday’s memorial service still had more than its quota of celebrities. It followed the same storyline since his death.
Who knew, for example, that former topless model Katie Price could have such naked emotions that she felt obliged to share her grief online after hearing the news.
Or how promoters AEG – set to lose millions by canceling Jackson’s 50 London dates – felt so worried for his fans they wondered aloud whether his family would like to fill in.
His father Joe Jackson, the man who allegedly beat his sons to make them sing better, also felt obliged to make his heartbreak public.
“We own a record company called Ranch Records. It’s driven by Blu Ray technology. That’s our next step,” he explained at the Black Entertainment Television awards 72 hours after his son’s death. “It’s been tough,” he added. We all felt his pain.
It might be unfair to suggest but, as the tweets by well-known twits and publicity seeking press releases indicate, at least some of the televised memorial service grief has less to do with celebrating a life and more to do with saving dying celebrity careers.
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