Usher, Mariah Carey, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson and Others Speak/Perform at Michael Jackson’s Public Memorial
Author: Staff | Date: July 8th 2009 | Filed: R.I.P.
Views: 89
Wearing dark sunglasses and a single yellow rose pinned to his jacket, a noticeably emotional Usher performed “Gone Too Soon,” a track from Michael Jackson’s 1991 Dangerous album, at the King of Pop’s farewell service Tuesday (Jul 7) in Los Angeles at the Staples Center.
Other celebrities and important public figures who spoke and/or performed at the public ceremony include Queen Latifah, Smokey Robinson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, and more. Continue reading to check out all of the pictures.
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES / WIRE IMAGE
soulfulsmile
July 9, 2009 at 9:51 AM
I am completely devastated about Michael Jackson’s death- I am not an outwardly emotional person- nor the type of person to cry over a celebrity or stand out in the rain to catch a glimpse of star. But Michael Jackson was different- his music was blasting in my home and his videos on my TV at a time- not so long ago, when I was the only black girl in my school and when my mother was being taught in her Psychology evening class that black people were genetically less intelligent than white people. MJ was ours- a black person that people of all races admired for his talents and adored for his obvious sweetness and shyness. I have always been able to contain my emotions if they are sad from others, as I find it embarrassing otherwise. However, from the moment I found out MJ had died I was gobsmacked and it hurt so much I have cried a lot and he keeps entering my thoughts sporadically- day and night.
I thought that he was highly misunderstood- pure and sweet and a victim of a world that gets too much enjoyment from vilifying, bullying, laughing and trampling on others. He was a victim of a society that is unable to separate sex from anything and unwilling to accept that some people are so kind and loving and appreciative of what they have, that they simply want to share this with those less fortunate- nothing sinister about it. Michael was an easy target- sensitive and insecure, and naive- he was taken advantage of. He was probably the last person that would ever even dream of hurting a child in anyway. Peodophiles HATE children, they do not care if they get hurt. Michael loved children and it is those few greedy jealous adults that caused him so much misery.
What sets humans apart from other animals is our ability to reason and analyze. For all those people out there who are unwilling to accept that Michael was innocent, maybe it’s time to try and put yourself in his situation. If you were being accused of something serious that you didn’t do, and you were the most famous person on earth, but with a gentle fragile temperament, hurt beyond words, scared and worried and wondering how you would get through the humiliation of year long court appearances, and you had the means to make it go away by paying the accuser- would you not do it? I WOULD. This is what MJ did, however it did him no favours. Now put yourself in the position of a parent of a child who has supposedly been abused. In my opinion, no amount of money could compensate for justice being given. If any child of mine was ever abused- i would want the man to be put behind bars and punished for what he has done. But not the mother or father of Jordie chandler, no, they wanted MJs hard earned money and probably didn’t care about their son as much as MJ did. I’m sure Jordie is suffering- and MJ wouldn’t have wanted that. Then came the court case in 2005. Why, did the parents of the second boy allow their son to stay at the house of a man who supposedly molests children. They let him because they didn’t for one second believe that MJ was guilty of anything- but they saw $$$$ and thought they could get a settlement out of him like the Chandler case. Thankfully, jackson had wised up and decided to be dragged through the mill of a court case and prove his innocence in court. He was of course found not guilty. I think that a black successful and popular man, who is eccentric and loved by so many was too much for the haters to take. The press continued to treat him like a guilty man and labelled him Wacko Jacko. The wackos are the surgeons that continued to operate on a once so handsome and pretty man who obviously didn’t see what the rest of the world saw when he looked in the mirror. The wackos are the so called ‘doctors’ who plied him with drugs and were unable to do their job and say no. The wackos are the so called Christians that write awful articles in magazines and in the papers- God would be so very disappointed in them. The wackos are the people that claim to care about children yet never spare a thought for his children when they talk so disgustingly about the father they love. Michael Jackson- he never had a bad word to say about anyone.
Whether you’re a fan of MJ or not, the only person he ever hurt was himself. Even when he was hurting inside during the Thriller album years- when most would have expected him to have been at his most happy, he was in fact lonely- yet he gave joy to billions and adored his fans.I feel that society has forgotten what it means to love and respect others and what INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY MEANS. He was a man that supported more charities than any other celebrity in history. He was visiting hospital wards and 3rd world countries and writing songs to raise money for charities and world relief long before it was fashionable to do so- long before Bob Geldof and the like. But the press rarely cared to praise him for that- it doesn’t sell papers.
What hurts me the most, is the thought that he perhaps didn’t die happy or know that he was loved. But then I think about the fact that just hours before he died he had been doing what he loved most- entertaining- and looking forward to coming to the UK, and that gives me some contentment.
I love his music and it will remain forever, but I actually loved Michael Jackson- the sensitive and kind person, much more, and it is he who I will miss. RIP MJ xoxoxo