I certainly don't know what really happened at the end, but there were many hesitations in the ceremony that indicated that this event was not planned and rehearsed down to the tenth of a second. Some things just happened. I'm willing to believe that Paris's little speech was one of those things.

I will note, however, that just as Paris worked her way to the microphone I was beginning to worry that we were going to see all the Jackson's step up to the microphone in a competition to see who could publicly miss Michael the most. Once Paris started speaking – which I found quite moving – I hoped she would be the last to speak. And she was. My nascent worry was unjustified.

On the whole, I thought the ceremony was well-done. Giving adequate public rememberance to such a complex figure is not easy. It would have been very easy for this memorial to go tastelessly over-the-top. It didn't.

Even if Paris Jackson was being exploited, it's nothing compared to the exploitation Paris is going to reek on dear old dead dad's estate.

Enough of this coverage already! On to the issues that MATTER! Power to the people!!!

Said twice for emphasis, forgive me!

As I have posted elsewhere, it all came down to a family mourning the passing of a son, brother, uncle...and father. Paris' graceful and heartfelt mini-eulogy brought to mind John-John's famous salute. Which, as we later learned, was "coached" by Jackie, but who cares? It was an achingly human moment amidst the historical tragedy and pageantry.

Now, can we leave the family alone for a while to mourn in peace?

Not only that, the chimp was a rescue.

Thanks, Clockwork Smurf. That was lovely.

She's going to be so hot, and so fucked up.

What's the difference, besides who you choose to castigate and who gets a free pass?

The little girl wanted to speak at her father's funeral. She gave the shortest, plainest, and most moving goodbye of the evening. It was beautiful; an eleven-year-old's version of what most of us would want to say about our fathers. Couldn't you leave that alone?

Judy Berman, you should be ashamed of yourself. Salon, you should be ashamed as well, for publishing an article that sounds like the scribblings of a message board troll.

The girl had the right to speak at her father's funeral. It's a cathartic moment to get up in front of loved ones and profess your love for someone who has just passed, that should not be denied to her just because her family is famous and it's televised around the world. It's writers constant dissection and examination of everything that happens around her as exploitative.

This child is not a "thing" although he was bought just like a piece of merchandise. Somewhere in Europe, probably in Russia or one of the former satellite states of the USSR, is his biological/birth mother but MJ was able to circumvemt the normal legal requirements for a certificate of birth because he had the money, the vanity and the lawyers to do it. This AA hero did not adopt a child from Africa as Madonna and Angelina did, even though Al Sharpton wants a stamp to commemorate this singer/dancer. The hypocrisy is mind-boggling and now the mayor of LA is issuing a worldwide appeal to fans to help pay for the expense of the memorial service! He might have to wait until doomsday. MJ's best days are well in the past and it's Quincy Jones who elevated him.

The child, Paris, was not shedding a tear as Ms.Jckson, done up to the nines, could be seen practically pulling the strings. All those sunglasses being worn in an inside venue gave a disturbing impression of a Mafioso funeral - "The Sopranos".

I have an 11 year old girl too and I will tell you that Paris was faking. No child cries on cue like that. The whole thing was completely bizarre. I don't doubt that she mourns her father but those words and those tears were completely fake and I agree, the Jackson family is exploiting her already.

I was thinking the same thing when Paris took the microphone. I have no doubt she genuinely loved her dad and her tears of grief were real, but I don't think saying so at the Staples Center for an audience of millions was her idea. She's an eleven year old girl who just lost her father; I don't think dad's record sales and the careers of her aunts and uncles were foremost on her mind.

you work with the tools at hand--& if the tools are children...?

The people who put a child in that position and the assholes who keep revisiting the moment on television and radio (et tu NPR?) are all despicable.

Don't be so judgemental, Judy. Children in my family have spoken their true feelings at funerals. Why couldn't this child, 11 years old, speak her true feelings? You are the exploiter, dear.

Was it "orchestrated" when John John Kennedy saluted his father's passing casket? Was it exploitative when the photo was widely distributed? Did anyone cry exploitation when Bindi Irwin read a scripted tribute at her father's funeral - a speech similar to that of Paris Jackson but delivered with a beaming smile?

Criticizing how other people grieve is bad form. Reducing a mourning family to a "brand" is callous and inappropriate. Speculating whether the Jacksons are a "truly loving family" is presumptuous and perverse. Be grateful that your own grace under bereavement will never be evaluated by people you don't know in order to fill column space.

I was always an avid premium member of Salon and have recommended the site to many for years. However, recently I find it getting more and more bogged down into the tabloid aspects of journalism. Reporting is one thing, but the endless speculation about the Michael Jackson's life, death, and beyond borders on turning me off from reading any of Salon's other worthwhile efforts to inform. Although I will always be a fan of Garrison. Obviously, the staff of Salon is as obsessed with MJ as is a sizeable portion of the world at the moment. But really, is it worth dicing (to death) the actions of a family (and fans for that matter) when dealing with such a personality as MJ was (for good or bad)? Give it a rest and let the man be celebrated or shunned as one sees fit at this point.