(Image source: Los Angeles Times)
BY CHRISTINA MARTIN
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Michael Jackson wasn’t a stranger to controversy in life, and according to media reports, his posthumous tribute concert was full of it.
“In this case, it was the suggestion that the show was poorly timed, coinciding as it did with the trial in the United States of Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, on manslaughter charges.”
Manslaughter trial aside, a writer for The New York Times says the concert reduced fond memories of Jackson to trinkets and t-shirts.
“Official merchandise stalls did a brisk trade in T-shirts that commemorated his death in 2009 ($31), coffee mugs ($15) and a slim official program ($19). Unofficial hawkers, equally keen to comfort mourning fans, sold stacks of his trademark fedora, in black and white, some adorned with sequins ($10).”
Jackson’s kids wore outfits from different eras of the singer’s career, with daughter Paris in a “Thriller” jacket, son Prince mimicking the “Bad” era and Blanket rocking the “Smooth Criminal” look.
The mini Michaels have a Celebrity News and Style writer asking if the real controversy was their rare public appearance.
“Have we not been told so recently that in Michael Jackson’s own words, he did not have a childhood? ...Some fans and members of the Jackson family had questioned the timing of the concert... I question the way his children were paraded in front of [an] albeit adoring crowd, even if, on the face of it, they wanted to appear.”
As for the concert, a lineup including Christina Aguilera, Gladys Knight, and three fifths of the Jackson 5, didn’t impress Telegraph writer Neil McCormick.
“A perceived insensitivity and generally poisonous atmosphere, however, clearly hasn’t helped attract the kind of stellar line-up you might expect at a tribute to the King of Pop... It’s more like a radio roadshow than a superstar extravaganza.”
Michael’s siblings Jermaine, Randy and Janet didn’t like the timing of the concert and weren’t in attendance. The divisive tribute attracted more than fifty thousand fans.
Transcript by Newsy.
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