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On the day of the big Michael Jackson memorial at the Staples Center (along with the private service at Forest Lawn), my sincere thanks to Tony Martin, editor of the Melbourne-based Scrivener's Fancy, for re-running "Jackson Virus" plus a flattering intro.

"The public funeral for Jackson at LA's Staples Center on Tuesday July 7," I wrote, "is going to be a huge Diane Arbus event, like nothing ever seen or imagined. A Multitude of Grotesques." Meaning that today will be, in effect, if you want to look at it that way, a day of national mourning. Not for the memory of a talented but diseased man but for the whittling away of America's soul. Who, really, is proud of what today's Staples Center is saying to the world about the communal values and character that define this country?

This high-quality TMZ live webcam, by the way, is very cool.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 7, 2009 at 5:51 AM

comment #1

Movie fan09 says ...

For what it's worth-
I don't think he was ever a pedophile.
I think he just never learned how to make that adolecent jump (when you are just discovering yourself) to becoming a man; because if you have no one to talk to about the changes that are going on, how do you deal with them? It's not like he had time either, he was working too much.
I only say this because I saw a comment by Brooke Shields last night and she said when he met her in '82, he was more interested in asking her the meaning behind first and second base, then he was interested in dating her.

Posted by Movie fan09 at July 7, 2009 6:47 AM

comment #2

vansmith says ...

There will always be people who will recoil at the showing of LOVE, especially if they themselves are not a participant in it. I was offended by all the negative reactions i saw to the outpouring of grief over his death, it was surprising really. The love people have for him will always outweigh the ridicule and the assumption of guilt that others love to heap on him. It speaks to size of his talent and if you were'nt in on it you missed it. He was the best that ever did it...RIP..

Posted by vansmith at July 7, 2009 6:51 AM

comment #3

Ulysses says ...

I concur with Kaiser Chiefs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spYcp0ZB4nM

Posted by Ulysses at July 7, 2009 6:57 AM

comment #4

Jeffrey Wells says ...

A 23 year-old famous guy who asks a famous actress the "meaning" of "first and second base" is, trust me, coming from a profoundly curious place. A form of celebrity being and celebrity strange-itude. I assure that you whatever acts he may have actually engaged in during his life, the Shields anecdote is but one of may hundreds of indications over the years that the man wasn't straight. Which is neither here nor there. The main point is that I don't think he knew what he was, but he did act in ways that allowed for repeated overnight intimacy with young lads.

Your belief that Jackson wasn't pedophilically inclined is...words fail. We all live behind this or that wall of limited denial, but c'mon. Oh, screw it. I can't argue this. It's too gargantuan, too numbing. Fine. Believe what you want.

Posted by Jeffrey Wells at July 7, 2009 7:34 AM

comment #5

nodirectionhome says ...

Just printed a copy of your excellent commentary. Well done, sir !

Posted by nodirectionhome at July 7, 2009 7:47 AM

comment #6

Movie fan09 says ...

Jeffrey Wells says ...

The main point is that I don't think he knew what he was, but he did act in ways that allowed for repeated overnight intimacy with young lads.

oh definitely.
I'm not trying to excuse his actions.
I'm just trying to understand.
and yea, that wasn't smart, but like you said, He didn't know what he was. He had enough examples of what guys do (since he was in the bed with the sheets over his head when his brothers were with groupies in another bed) but he was waay too confused and protected to really lead him anywhere safely.

Posted by Movie fan09 at July 7, 2009 8:05 AM

comment #7

Mark says ...

"I think he just never learned how to make that adolecent jump"

I recommend reading Truth or Dare in the current Bruno GQ. It has nothing to do w/ Jackson, and yet it has everything to do w/ what Jackson was.

Pedophilely-inclined teachers, priests, boy-scout masters, and MJ never truly confront their sexuality, yet they subconciously take their lives in directions that allow them to be alone with 10-year old boys.

Posted by Mark at July 7, 2009 8:18 AM

comment #8

shanana says ...

Nothing is more grotesque than those who choose to piss on a man's memory in an attempt to grab a few paragraphs-steal a little spotlight- in the media or try to run up a few more comments on their board. Today doesn't need you at all, Jeff. But it does highlight your dark, contemptable, mean-spirited, and generally apathetic heart. I doubt if Roman Polanski died you'd so be quick judge him as harshly, even though he IS guilty of fucking a thirteen-year-old.

Posted by shanana at July 7, 2009 9:31 AM

comment #9

Mark says ...

Also, when raided, Jackson's bedroom was filled with porn and alcohol, and reportedly had warning bells in the adjacent hallway if anyone was approaching. Not that porn itself is criminal, i just mention to counter the childish front that Michael would portray, that he was some kind of asexual 8-year old who was scared of sexuality while kicking girls out of the treehouse.

Posted by Mark at July 7, 2009 9:35 AM

comment #10

Irving Thalberg says ...

Step 1: Cop a righteous hop-a-plane-out-of-the-country-to-avoid-this-grotesque-circus attitude

Step 2: Post links to TMZ webcams

Brillz.

Posted by Irving Thalberg at July 7, 2009 9:40 AM

comment #11

Travis Crabtree says ...

Wow, shanana .... you really nailed it, sister. Perhaps Jeffrey needs to look at The Man in the Mirror.

Michael brought us all together with his magic and absence of nose. Godspeed, oh delicate one.

BTW... media antidote: The Sklar Brothers quest hosting for Jim Rome on AM 570 right now. Nearly 90% MJ-free! And funny, too!

Posted by Travis Crabtree at July 7, 2009 9:44 AM

comment #12

jmevans says ...

jeff, you are one sad, sad man.

you have really brought down the quality of your website, one that i respect due to your film coverage, but continuing to spew your views of michael. you are not the only one who thinks unfavorably about the man, the coverage regarding his death. but for every person who mocks the man, bitches about the tv coverage, calls him a freak, a pedophile, there are a hundred people who recognize that he was the most prolific and influential pop star ever. he sold 750 million records, showcased his talent to the world at the age of 6, and changed pop music forever with his solo work.

i'm watching cnn right now and they are showing people from all around the world, huddled around their tv's watching the memorial. this man mattered more to the world than you ever will. his music aside, his videos alone changed the art form of music videos forever.

what do you expect? a massive public memorial wasn't going to happen? the world wouldn't gather around their televisions and watch this tribute? should we not expect this man to obtain such recognition today?

michael was a really flawed man. his demons will forever be discussed. his legacy was certainly tarnished by what happened from 1993 and beyond. but even those traits are overshadowed by what he gave the world. shame on your for expecting anything less than what is happening at the staples center today. the man deserved this recognition and tribute.

Posted by jmevans at July 7, 2009 10:09 AM

comment #13

p.Vice says ...

If there ever was a day and a place that begged for a North Korean nuclear strike, this is it.

Posted by p.Vice at July 7, 2009 10:15 AM

comment #14

KC says ...

You know Wells gets as much of a boner writing no-bullshit real-talk old white man stuff about MJ's sexual predilections as MJ did watching The Suite Life of Zack and Cody

Posted by KC at July 7, 2009 10:18 AM

comment #15

Travis Crabtree says ...

p.Vice.....
at this point I'd almost be rooting for the North Koreans...

Posted by Travis Crabtree at July 7, 2009 10:22 AM

comment #16

shanana says ...

No Travis, I only follow ever so humbly in your oh-so large shadow. I too am sooo sick of all the MJ coverage. That's why I'm still posting comments regarding MJ. Why won't all this MJ talk go away? Gosh, I wish the North Koreans would annihilate all humanity just so we could stop talking about MJ. Right now, I'm watching CNN and they won't stop talking about him. With only 140 channels, a sirius satellite subscription, my computer and Ipod - there is simply no escaping all this coverage, And he had plastic surgery, and was possibly amoral - unlike other celebrities. I'll be back later to comment on another Michael Jackson post to let you know I still don't care. Keep up the good fight sis.

Posted by shanana at July 7, 2009 10:45 AM

comment #17

Griff says ...

Diane Arbus?

Or Nathaniel West?

Maybe Arbus for the public hoopla, and West for the private travesties.

Posted by Griff at July 7, 2009 12:56 PM

comment #18

DeeZee says ...

Jeff: To be fair to MJ, he was born in a different time when people didn't talk about sex as casually as they do nowadays. Anyway, no one thinks Steve Carrel's character in 'Virgin's a pedo, even though he had as much experience as Jacko, so...

Posted by DeeZee at July 8, 2009 7:09 PM

comment #19

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comment #22

penchenk87 says ...

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comment #23