More on Tuesday’s Michael Jackson Memorial, Plus Jackson Mom Removed as Administrator

More than 1.6 million people registered for a pair of tickets, only 8,750 names were chosen:

As I predicted the other day, some of those tickets are being scalped for crazy amounts:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/06/michael.jackson.tickets.resale/

scalpers online Monday were asking as much as $9,000 per ticket to the free event

One pair of tickets attracted a bid of $275,000 on eBay before the listing was removed. It was difficult to tell whether the offer was serious.

Among those was a listing posted by a man who identified himself only as Peetey, 29, of Venice Beach, California. He was asking $8,000 for a single ticket; the winning bidder would accompany his girlfriend to the service, he said. The ad was removed within 15 minutes, he said, but that was enough time for five people to call with interest.

Wow. And people called me cynical the other day. Even I didn’t think they would scalp them for that much.

I am totally and completely not surprised. Kirsten, if I had been here that day, I promise I would not have called you cynical. I should have tried to get in on that lottery. I need a new bathroom.

scalpers online Monday were asking as much as $9,000 per ticket to the free event

What the hell!?!?! It’s not an event! It’s a memorial!!! Are they crazy?!

20,000 people are purportedly coming in from Blighty (UK) for the memorial service according to Jermain in the LK interview.
London-LA tickets are not cheep, I’m astonished a the number of people willing to foot the bill just to attend a memorial.

MJ was/is loved, nay adored, there is no other explanation for it.

This could get very ugly!

This COULD get very ugly?
How about that it WILL get EXTREMELY ugly… :down_tb: :help_tb:

I think its sad that people are scalping these tickets. I’m not surprised or shocked but saddened by it. Its a shame that the true MJ fans who wanted to say goodbye and pay their respects didn’t win the tickets in the lottery but money hungry bastards did. Its truly a shame. I’m glad that they are doing whatever they can to try and minimize the scalping.

I for one will be saying goodbye to MJ from the comfort of my couch where I will sit and cry with my kids. My daughter is only 9 but she knew who MJ was and loved his music as well. She was saddened by his passing as much as I was.

I liked to remember MJ of the 70′s-80′s..not the trainwreck who admitted he liked sharing his bed w/ kids…The guy was one srtange cookie and would of been shunned by society if not was not famous .It is bad he died truthfully so-called drug adict w/ his life was not a major shock.

Musically MJ was very talented and did much for music…Personally his early life was tragic and adult life was very strange..

marymagdalene says

This COULD get very ugly?

How about that it WILL get EXTREMELY ugly’ ¦ :down_tb: :help_tb:

AGREED!!!! :gulp_ee:

It is sad about the scalers, but not a surprise, unfortunately. People are people, and they are always looking for ways to make a quick buck (or $9,000)

I’ll be watching the ceremony on TV at my mom’s house…she’s been my partner in mourning this past week. I’m still shocked at how emotional I have been about MJ’s passing. I hope the circus and drama surrounding his death can slow down a bit during the memorial so his fans, friends, and family can celebrate him before things start getting uglier than they already are…

As I predicted the other day, some of those tickets are being scalped for crazy amounts:

Yeah. I’m not surprised either. They should have did a first come first serve type of deal. But then I guess they didn’t want to deal with the overflow after the seats were all gone. Its a lose lose either way you look at it. I’m just glad MJ will be buried before the Memorial. I didn’t want any pictures popping up somewhere…..

As far as the Will is concerned, I’m not surprised Katherine Jackson was removed. Especially since she is a beneficiary. There’s a conflict of Interest…. PLUS, the court tries to fulfill a person’s last wishes if they can. The fact that Jackson has provided for his children, which is the most important, I’d be shocked if the Will is overturned. The Jacksons will just have to get a job rather than live on MJ’s kids inheritance.

This got ugly years ago. I’m glad Katherine was removed as administrator. That’s the only way to alienate Joe.

Please let them get him and this circus buried soon.

The NY Times says Shaheen Jafargholi from Britain’s Got Talent will also be there. He sang Who’s Loving You on the show and was absolutely adorable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYDM3MIzEHo

This got ugly years ago. I’m glad Katherine was removed as administrator. That’s the only way to alienate Joe.

Amen sister. Besides the fact that an estate like that should really be run by people with experience in handling those kinds of assets.

This thing is blown way out of proportion. I will not be watching.

Welcome to absolute Gridlock!! The Staples Center is pretty much at the juncture of 4 major Los Angeles freeways and it is going to start at 10. So you have morning traffic segwaying into the memorial traffic. And then you are going to have all the idiots without tickets wanting to be “close” etc. etc.
If I lived or worked in LA I would definitely call in sick tomorrow.

California is so broke…and now somebody (and I’m sure it isn’t the Jacksons) are going to have to pay overtime for every cop, CHP, sherrifs officer, and law enforcement personel within a 25 mile radius. I can’t wait to see the videos from the helicopters. Insane!!

And absolutely pessimistic me….I wouldn’t park my car within miles of the venue.

unique28v
Jul 6th, 2009 at 7:35 pm

“The Jacksons will just have to get a job rather than live on MJ’s kids inheritance.”

What I have read about MJ’s will, the last one in existence was dated 2002. Don’t you think a really greedy family would have used their influence to make sure his will was always current? To make sure that they were included in his last wishes? I think, if anything, they have been negligent in that matter. It is a known fact that Michael didn’t want anything to do with paying his bills, legal matters, etc. That’s why he hired so many people to do these things and, ultimately ended up getting sued many times.

Michael’s family should have money of their own. Janet has sold over 100 million albums, therefore she shouldn’t need his money. Didn’t Joe make a gazillion dollars managing the Jackson 5 and later the Jacksons? He seems to travel to Europe a lot so there could be money in foreign bank accounts. Regardless, anyone in Michael’s family should not be in financial need, therefore I don’t understand any particular need for greed.

In addition, I think the children will be well taken care of based on Michael’s unpublished works. Very wise of Michael indeed. I also think the court should make anyone handling the children’s affairs accountable for every penny.

^^well greed is limitless regardless of whether you already have 100 million dollars or not. And I believe Joe Jackson is a very, very, very money-hungry person. Why else would he subject his kids to working at such an early age so they can foot the bill?

They are expecting 1 million people at that memorial tomorrow. I can’t imagine how people who don’t actually have tickets are even going to get near Staples Center with all the security that’s going to be there.

Luckily, I’m working tomorrow and my office is on the other side of L.A., so I shouldn’t have any trouble with traffic (well any MORE trouble than I always do with the lovely L.A. traffic).

hardkandy
Jul 7th, 2009 at 12:00 am
^^well greed is limitless regardless of whether you already have 100 million dollars or not. And I believe Joe Jackson is a very, very, very money-hungry person. Why else would he subject his kids to working at such an early age so they can foot the bill?

Perhaps because he realized their obvious talent?…….or a combination of the two. Only Joe knows.

MJ was a very troubled guy and I can’t believe how sad I feel about his death, well actually not so much about his death strange as that sounds, but sad about the way his life turned out. He was like his song, a bright comet who streaked across the sky, but in later years everything turned to dust.

Not all of the Jacksons are wealthy. All most of them knew was show business and its been a long time (since anyone but Janet?) has had a hit record. One of them, Marlon I believe, left show business and was successful in real estate but who knows now as we all know what happened to the real estate market, especially out west. Randy was in a bad accident and was left with some type of impairment and does odd jobs. I don’t think it was Michael’s job to support his family and we really don’t know if he helped them out when he was alive, but Katherine is getting 40% and she can do what she wants with it including helping her other children if she so desires. I don’t really get the idea that Michael was all that close to most of the family, I think Katherine was the only one he completely trusted.

As for the will, the people he named to handle his finances are reputable and will do a good job. Without MJ around to spend money his estate will turn into a gold mine. Its really hard to know the real story behind The Man in the Mirror, but I prefer to think about his talent and let someone far greater than me judge him. RIP MJ

Perhaps because he realized their obvious talent?’ ¦’ ¦.or a combination of the two. Only Joe knows.

So if he realized their obvious talent that gives him a right to push them into the spotlight and beat them when they don’t get things right? Michael himself has expressed that he didn’t have a proper childhood AND that his dad beat them. That is obviously Joe Jackson being ruthless and greedy. And I doubt much has changed since then. This man was feeling great and promoting his record label 4 days after his son died, he is as greedy as they come. He will be wanting his paws all over Michael’s estate no matter how money he already has or doesn’t have in his bank account.

I’ll be watching, and possibly shedding some tears today.

Tess says

If I lived or worked in LA I would definitely call in sick tomorrow.

Well then glad you don’t live in LA. Where DO you live?

Sunn
Jul 7th, 2009 at 8:06 am

I’ll be watching, and possibly shedding some tears today.

Same here Sunn, sad day indeed. RIP Michael

On Access Hollywood they were interviewing Akon who had been working with Michael on his new album and they played a song they worked on, it sounded good, Michael’s voice with the Akon touch on the song itself……I smell a masssive hit right there and poor Akon was quite choked up listening to it, the first line is the song is something about not living forever……..so much for the rumours that Michael could barely sing………Akon was surprised at how chatty and warm MJ was, he was expecting aloof.

I did see a documentary Michael Jackson: What Happend Next? filmed when MJ was basically forgotten, he had escaped the US to other countries. They showed an auction of incredible Michael memorabilia in Vegas and few people showed up and fewer were bidding so that stuff. This is the documentary where Bob Jones, Michael’s long time manager, said Michael made up the whole Wacko Jacko stuff and got a kick out of how the tabloids made stuff up on top of the stuff he did.

Randy Taborelli [I didn't realize he knew MJ since they were kids] said that all of Michael’s stories about Joe terrorizing the kids and having a lousy childhood were exaggerated, he said Michael knew he was the Golden Goose at a very young age and manipulated that power for all he could starting at very young age. Michael certainly had many facets to him.

There was a suggestion in another documentary that both Joe and the boys were not happy that Berry Gordy singled Michael out for stardom and that the one tour they did, the Victory? tour, after Michael was a massive solo hit, was a very strained affair.

To some degree, Joe Jackson was not that much different than most pushy stage parents even today and many parents of that era – you have to remember that back in the 1960s and 1970s it was not considered bad to spank your kids or even give them a smack occasionally as a form of discipline, as someone who grew up at the same time as MJ, I’m only 2 years younger, not like today, where even spanking is considered assault, and especially in the black community, I can say this because Chris Rock and other black comedians have spoken on numerous occasions about how black parents are not above giving their kids a whooping to keep their kids in line, mom, dad, aunties or even grandma.

He did accomplish his goal of getting his kids out of poverty the only way he saw how – it’s a Catch 22. He wasn’t a trained talent scout – he was a guy eeking out a living in a factory without much education with an expanding family but he also moonlighted as a musician so probably had some knowledge of the local music scene.

And there is some suggestion by several people close to the family that there has been some exaggeration as to just how bad it was. It is clear that Joe Jackson is a bitter money hungry man now, as I mentioned, he was not very happy with Berry Gordy. That’s probably when his money train dried up.

Michael has certainly proven you can spend more than you take in, even when you take in millions and millions of dollars. Oh wait, isn’t that governments and corporations too?

How are people scalping tickets, they showed on CNN that they give you the two tickets, and one wristband, and they put the other wrist band on the winner’s wrist and if it is tampered with the tickets are void. Are they selling the other ticket with the wrist band? I also heard Ebay was taking the listings down.

Just saw a nice clip of David Cook singing Billie Jean during a segment on how MJ inspired other artists on the MTV coverage.