I'm really glad that Paris Jackson spoke of her love for her dad

[CatWoman]

any man with a decent sperm count can be a father. There are thousands upon thousands of fathers and fatherless kids out there.

However, it takes a very special man to be a dad.

[wndycty]

1. Well said CatWoman K&R

:kick:

[jobycom]

2. Broke my heart.

[jesus_of_suburbia]

4. Mine too.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

3. When said the word DADDY, my heart broke again.

We only see MJ as the performer but we forget that he was a father. He really loved his children. This memorial was so touching to me.

[Lilyeye]

5. I agree. It tore me up when she spoke.

It was wonderful to see. Esp when you had people here last week saying maybe the kids will now have a normal life with their dad gone. :eyes:

[csziggy]

6. That is why I find the speculation whether Jackson is the biological father irrelevant

As well as hurtful. He was the father of those children - children who for all practical purposes had no mothers. And no matter what allegations there were about MJ's life, many people said he was a loving father to those children.

I did not watch the memorial - did "Prince Michael" sing? There was speculation earlier in the day that he would.

[Neecy]

7. me too

You had the feeling that she felt strongly that she had to come out and say this, because I'm sure she's heard enough of the whispers about what kind of a father he might have been. She's a pretty brave young lady and I'm glad she spoke.

[BuelahWitch]

11. Yes that took alot of courage and I say "Good for her!"

Even if he wasn't the sperm donor, he loved her and he was her Daddy. That's the most important thing.

[earth mom]

8. I feel sorry for the kids. They didn't ask for all this insanity.

I didn't watch the entire show, but saw the last few minutes and Paris's words were very touching.

[spoony]

62. Yes, quite moving, and they're so young to lose their dad.

It's too bad our vampiric media probably did backflips when she spoke, realising the ratings they could squeeze out of her/their grief.

[Catherine Vincent]

9. Amen, sister!

[calimary]

10. Good point. That was so genuine and heartfelt.

Very touching. Choked me up a little, too. Convinced me those kids should all stay together and among all those familiar aunties and uncles and their grandma. That's what they know and the world they're used to. They shouldn't be wrenched away from it.

[ronnykmarshall]

15. If Debbie Rowe has any heart ....

she saw that and won't try and take those kids away.

[CatWoman]

16. that's a big "if", Ronny

especially since his estate it rumored to be worth more than $1B

:hi:

[pnwmom]

21. Since the abusive grandfather is back with the grandmother now,

that doesn't seem like the right place for those kids either.

I can't imagine MJ wanting those kids to be in his father's sphere.

[CatWoman]

23. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have not lived together for over 10 years

he resides in Las Vegas; she resides in Encino.

[Maru Kitteh]

31. She is still the person who allowed MJ and the kids to be abused in the first place

I have no doubt of her abundant love, but her judgment apparently lacks.

I don't think there's any way of being sure that anyone will have the capability, the judgment, and the sincerity to raise those kids with both love, and their best interests in mind. I'm not willing to rule out Mrs. Jackson, Deborah Rowe Jackson or some other alternative as the best choice until more is clearly known, and not speculation.

[Control-Z]

97. I've never followed

much about MJ and his family. Have accusations been made by the kids and/or has she confessed to allowing the abuse? Or is that just another public/personal opinion?

It seems if MJ wanted her to have the kids he must have had some trust in her. But, like I said, I've never followed the family and really know nothing about their history other than the known abuse by the father.

[pnwmom]

105. I saw MJ in a video the other day, describing it. Among other things,

he said his father conducted their music rehearsals with a belt. When someone missed a step, he "tore into them" with the belt. He said his father hit them with other objects, too -- cords, boards. MJ became very distraught talking about it.

[niceypoo]

102. When the dad beats the kids, it's the moms fault...

...gotta love that 'logic.'

[pnwmom]

94. They stopped living together 10 years ago, but that doesn't mean they aren't

back together now; numerous reports said they were, and he didn't include any address in the court papers he filed asking to assist in the administration of the estate. And the family has allowed him to insert himself front and center again in their dealings with the press.

I agree with Rowe -- those kids shouldn't have to have contact with him, much less possibly live in the same house with him, or even in a house in which he was a frequent visitor.

[Number23]

88. I was actually hoping that Janet would take the kids

The little girl seems to have some connection with her aunt. And we all know the connection Janet had with her brother. It may be a good fit.

[marshall]

27. I think Rowe's main intent is to protect the kids from Joe

And Michael would be behind that one hundred percent.

[ronnykmarshall]

36. I agree on that.

Rowe wants Joe Jackson away from the kids.

But since he doesn't live with Katherine and lives in Vegas they won't see much of him.

[Maru Kitteh]

41. I don't trust him to stay away.

Any way you look at it, it's a damnable tragic mess.

[ronnykmarshall]

44. He sees dollar signs.

[marshall]

61. Rowe would be smart to get that in writing

A court injunction or something. Katherine turned a blind eye for a long time to Joe's abuse. If she regains the purse strings on the estate, or at least controls a sizable stipend for the children's living expense, Joe will have every incentive to turn on whatever dubious charms attracted her in the first place, and she might let him back in.

[Maru Kitteh]

68. And he has a new record company - who better to plug into the new machine than MJ's kids.

Gives me the damn willies thinking about it.

[roguevalley]

73. Rowe may seek a restraining order against Joe. Her side mentioned it.

[Hepburn]

77. IMO, her main motive is....

....$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

She only came around once he died??? What the hell kind of mom is that?

[marshall]

79. Joe wasn't sniffing around the kids until Michael died

Rowe rose to the occasion at another time--when Michael was getting involved with the Nation of Islam. As a Jew, Rowe feared for the safety of her children in that environment and she went to court.

[pnwmom]

96. What kind of Mom would entrust her children to the man who severely

abused their own father, her ex-husband -- and the woman who allowed the abuse to continue?

[Bryn]

12. Paris Jackson is indeed the daughter of Michael Jackson

She does look like him. When she cried, I cried. :(

[Maru Kitteh]

37. DNA does NOT make her any more OR ANY LESS "his child" - OF COURSE she's his child!

What is it with some people and Deoxyribonucleic acid fixations?

[Bryn]

45. Stop yelling at me!

Chill out! I did not mean it that way.

[Maru Kitteh]

50. When you frame her legitimacy in terms of DNA/appearance you contribute to the bigotry and stigma

of non-biological children in families as being "not real."

If YELLING AT YOU IS WHAT IT TAKES TO GET THAT MESSAGE THROUGH I WILL DO IT.

[Bryn]

54. WTF?

Nowhere in my posts have I mentioned about DNA, MJ'S SPERM or anything. Just that she looked like him! You do have a problem. You can yell all you want until your face turns blue. Fine! I'll just have fun with YOU!

[Maru Kitteh]

60. Backtracking now because you made a bad post based on a shallow observation doesn't surprise me in

the least.

"Paris Jackson is indeed the daughter of Michael Jackson

She does look like him."



You made yourself quite clear.

[Bryn]

63. You're twisting my words around to suit yourself

:eyes:

[pnwmom]

106. She looks nothing like MJ did before his plastic surgery. n/t

[Missy Vixen]

13. I'm the contrarian, and I've donned my asbestos underwear

I felt badly for little Paris. Obviously, it's the family's beeswax and not mine, but letting those kids anywhere near that stage was uncomfortable at best. I was angry over Rev. Sharpton and Rep. Lee's comments as well. "Inappropriate" comes to mind.

That was not the time or the place to bring up the previous allegations, especially since Michael Jackson's kids are young enough still they may have never heard them.

IMHO, YMMV.

[Feron]

19. No flames from me. I completely agree. n/t

[Missy Vixen]

22. I just thought I was mean

What those kids need is somewhere quiet with their loved ones and the chance to cry and grieve privately.

Again, IMHO.

[ecstatic]

24. Yes, but if she really really wanted to speak to honor her own dad

Should she be denied that right? Isn't she around 11? More than old enough to process what's going on.

[CatWoman]

28. yeah!! what FUCKING NERVE she had wanting to tell the world

she loved her dad!!!

[noiretextatique]

59. unbelievable

:wtf: my sister's children all spoke at her memorial. i guess we were publicity seeking whores too :crazy:

[Missy Vixen]

67. I know this will be tough for you

I said nothing about Paris Jackson seeking publicity. The people around her certainly are, though.

[noiretextatique]

69. and this will be equally tough for you

i was comparing my family to the jackson family...i said nothing about Paris.

[hlthe2b]

32. Absolutely she should have the opportunity to speak at her

father's memorial.... Good Lord... what is wrong with some people here?!

That funeral is the last memory she will have of the relationship between herself and her father. Would you deny her the chance to honor that memory?

On edit... I'm agreeing with the post I responded to... and am replying to the others on this thread who think Paris' speaking was wrong.

[Missy Vixen]

33. We have no idea what she really really wanted

It would have been nice if three small kids weren't subjected to the last two weeks of hysteria. I am also more than a bit convinced that some of the comments by those speaking made Michael Jackson's young daughter think she had to stick up for her daddy.

Just throwing this one out here -- I was thirty when my mother died. I was in no shape at all to speak at her service. Most people aren't.

[ronnykmarshall]

38. I did notice a gun in LaToya's hand ....

she was probably sticking it into Paris and talking in that strange Jacksonian languge they have that only dogs and Jacksons can hear:


"You better CRY god-damn it!"

[CatWoman]

42. HAHAHAHAHA

:rofl:

[EFerrari]

49. Wow. I'm watching a replay of Jermaine singing right now.

His voice is beautiful.

[noiretextatique]

70. did he appear to be greiving?

some kind and insightful person here said none of the family appeared to be greiving :eyes:

[EFerrari]

71. Today is a project-o-rama for some folks, I guess.

:shrug:

[NoQuarter]

78. Seriously. (eom)

[EFerrari]

85. I'm so grateful I have rhino skin and can just let this stupidity run off.

So many of our best artists came out today.

The tribute was wonderful and fitting.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

55. LOL!

RKM!!!!

[RFKHumphreyObama]

53. I think it depends on the person though

I was 14 when my grandfather passed away and I spoke at his memorial service. Although I didn't deliver a tribute or a eulogy, I would have been more than willing to have done so if I had been asked.

My mother passed away when I was 26. I spoke at both her funeral and her memorial service. As did my sister

People cope with their grief and emotion in different ways. For some kids it may be part of the healing process to speak at the funeral of their departed parent or relative. Perhaps MJ's daughter is used to living her life in the public spotlight or perhaps she wanted to do it to honor her father's memory and acknowledge the outpouring of love and support that so many around the globe had given. As long as she's doing it of her own accord, I don't really have a problem with it

[noiretextatique]

64. i spoke at my sister's funeral

but i am a perfromer, so that kicked in and i managed to get through it. her children spoke as well...they did it to honor their mother. people handle grief differently.
i am sure MJ's kids are used the media circus.

[Missy Vixen]

80. Michael Jackson did everything humanly possible to keep those kids out of the public eye while he

was alive. He was exploited from five on.

Of course, I seem to be the only one here that finds it somewhat interesting that his kids were up front and center in front of a billion people, and he hasn't even been gone two weeks.

[noiretextatique]

81. it was a memorial service

why is that so hard for you to comprehend? he was their father and it was his public memorial service. nothing sinister about them attending at all. i am sure he did what he could to keep them out of the public eye, but they are the children of a famous person.

[noiretextatique]

82. it was a memorial service

why is that so hard for you to comprehend? he was their father and it was his public memorial service. nothing sinister about them attending at all. i am sure he did what he could to keep them out of the public eye, but they are the children of a famous person.

[Missy Vixen]

83. it's not hard at all for me to comprehend

I wonder to myself why other people would want an underage child exposed to massive publicity during a time it would be better if she were allowed some privacy.

[noiretextatique]

84. it certainly was a beautiful tribute to her father

and she seemed to handle it well. what do you expect the family to do...leave her at home with the nanny?
much ado...

[Catherine Vincent]

75. I missed what Sharpton said

I was hoping no one would bring up the allegations that MJ was acquitted of. It appears Sharpton did. You're right, I don't think that was the time or the place to bring it up.

[Missy Vixen]

98. Cat, I thought it was in exceedingly poor taste

I've never been a big Sharpton fan. I was hoping he'd resist the impulse. Unfortunately for Michael Jackson's kids, he couldn't.

I'm wondering if there will be more of a fallout re: his comments later.

[EFerrari]

14. Will the memorial be rebroadcast? Does anyone have any idea?

[CatWoman]

18. someone in another thread mentioned that it would

....

[EFerrari]

20. Thanks. We had a meltdown and missed it all. n/t

[hlthe2b]

34. CNN said 4pm ET and &pm ET

I noted the license agreement allows for rebroadcast for 24 hours total.

[EFerrari]

40. Thank you so much!

:hi:

[hlthe2b]

43. I'm going to try to catch most of it this evening as well

Work got in the way...;)

[hlthe2b]

52. The replays appear to be online rather than live on CNN tv

http://edition.cnn.com/live/

[Kajsa]

17. I agree, Cat Woman.

They loved him so much.

:(

[madrchsod]

25. by all accountants he was a great dad.

well other than the balcony deal every picture i`ve seen of him and his kids were positive...i think some celebrities could have learned about being a parent from him.

[spanone]

26. k&r

[Better Believe It]

K & R Well put.

[hlthe2b]

29. I wish all the cynics who are so convinced "THEY" are right

and who live to let the rest of us know, could be made to watch that little girl. You would have to be inhuman not to realize that MJ had many many facets and they could not possibly "know" all there is to know about his life and character.

[EFerrari]

46. Great affection inspires great envy, that's all I can think.

The world is mourning this death. Who you have to be to need to spoil that is sad.

[hamsterjill]

30. That poor little girl!

I kept it together until she spoke. Then I lost it.

Very touching to see this, and it allowed the audience to relate to this music icon (if only for a moment) as "daddy" rather than the King of Pop.

[Blue Diadem]

35. I agree CatWoman. It was obvious Paris needed to express her

love for her Dad. It was so genuine coming from that heartbroken little girl and I'm so glad she shared it with the world.

[proud patriot]

39. "anyone can be a father but it takes someone special to be a

daddy"

That was a bumper sticker I gave my dad for father's day
one year .

I'm glad she spoke as well .

[Maru Kitteh]

47. Unfortunately some who want desperately to be Daddy's - can't father children.

And it's very, very painful.

I'm glad MJ and his kids had each other. I hope that, against seemingly impossible odds, they are able to find peace and something remotely resembling a normal, healthy life.

[proud patriot]

51. True

I wish the children the best

[TahitiNut]

56. And some of us can't do it on our own, either.

Two ex-wives ... no kids. (sigh) :shrug: So, I've had to "borrow" other people's kids. (I did my best, but it ain't the same.)

[Maru Kitteh]

65. I'm sorry Tahiti. When I say I know how you feel what I really mean is

I know how you feel. :hug:

[Laelth]

48. Everything I've seen suggests he loved his children very much. n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[stlsaxman]

57. Agreed K & R!

[Fire1]

58. Couldn't have said it better, CatWoman. Kudos. n/t

[JitterbugPerfume]

66. that little girl broke my heart

it was very obvious that she loved her daddy , and he loved her.

[K Gardner]

72. Agreed. On all counts.

[bigwillq]

74. K and R!

I like this post. :hug:

[spanone]

76. i just saw the rerun and it's so sad to watch...my heart goes out to these kids.

they lost their peter pan.

[redqueen]

86. Me too.

I have been avoiding coverage in order to not get upset at work, but I did see that one snippet, just her quote... and it was sure nice to see.

[DawgHouse]

87. Heartbreaking. :(

[mzmolly]

89. I'm glad that his children

appear to remember him fondly. Indeed it seems he was a very special "Dad" Catwoman. :hi:

[Kablooie]

90. I was there at Staples Center.

Paris came in crying and La Toya held her for a long time.
They youngest boy carried a Michael Jackson doll the whole time.
Overall it was a serious memorial with serious emotions.
I was moved.

[Raine]

92. Thank you

for sharing your experience with us.

[Kajsa]

99. Thanks so much for sharing

that with us.

:hug:

[Raine]

91. I am too

you could see what a wonderful father he was by the love his children have for him.

[FlaDem83]

93. This is my 100th post - and I agree with your sentiment.

As someone who lost a parent, when I was 11, to a needless drug addiction, I empathize and recognize, all too well, what she and her brothers are going through. It took tremendous courage for her to speak, but she obviously felt compelled to speak - and I thank her for sharing her humanity with us.

[bigwillq]

95. Congrats on 100 posts!

:toast:

Sorry about your parent. :( :hug:

[Kajsa]

100. Thank you, FlaDem!

Very well stated!

Congrats on your 100th post and
Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[fortyfeetunder]

101. I can't see how anyone cannot be touched by that little girl

I cannot fathom the grief that little girl has experienced over the last couple of weeks, gone before he can witness her coming of age, and being an adult.

I thought I could watch the highlights and not be moved, but it was Paris who did it for me.

There is no doubt MJ was a good and special father to those children. I grieve for them for losing him as they were just growing up.

[Triana]

103. By all accounts, MJ was a magnificent Dad....

...no one disputes that - especially his kids.

I'm heartbroken for them. They must feel so lost without him.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

104. That was a profoundly moving and heartbreaking moment

And she clearly is a very bright, beautiful and talented little girl. I always knew Michael Jackson would be a great dad and clearly he was

My heart aches for those children. What a sad loss :cry:

[Leftist Agitator]

107. Oh, Lord...

:eyes: