After all this time, Michael Jackson is finally being put to rest. It seems that taking so long – 70 days – is quite the indignity to his memory. But bickering families can make things hard, especially once lawyers and judges get involved. Today Michael will be laid to rest at Forrest Lawn cemetery in Glendale, California. The family will have a private funeral with just very close friends and relatives there, and they aren’t releasing any information about it. Jackson will be interred in the Great Mausoleum, which has some interesting art relevant to Michael’s life.
More than two months after Michael Jackson’s death, the singer will finally be buried on Thursday (September 3) at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California. But unlike the star-studded public memorial held in July, the final goodbye to the 50-year-old pop icon will be a private affair for friends and family only.
Jackson will be interred in the Great Mausoleum on the grounds of Forest Lawn, the final resting place for a number of Hollywood legends, including George Burns, Clark Gable, Nat King Cole, John Wayne and Walt Disney. Police promise a heavy presence during the event — including canine units and air support — and have encouraged gawkers to stay away. CNN reported that Gladys Knight, a longtime friend of Jackson’s, will perform an undisclosed song at the service. No media will be allowed at the funeral and the family has not announced anything about the program.
In addition to replicas of Michelangelo’s “David” and “Moses” sculptures, the mausoleum where Jackson will be buried features an ornate stained glass rendition of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” making it a fitting resting place for the singer, who once commissioned for his bedroom a “Last Supper” portrait in which he appeared as Jesus among disciples that include Charlie Chaplin, Albert Einstein, John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, Elvis and Walt Disney. The huge mausoleum is normally open to tourists but was closed on Wednesday in preparation for the funeral.
It is unclear where the golden casket that took center stage at the July celebration at the Staples Center in Los Angeles has been since that event, though it is rumored that it has been kept in the Forest Lawn crypt of Motown founder Berry Gordy.
[From MTV]
The aforementioned heavy security – estimated to cost at least $150,000 – will be paid for by Jackson’s estate and not by the city, which paid $1.4 for security for the memorial.
In related news, Dr. Jack Kevorkian is jumping on the bandwagon (albeit a little late) in an attempt to grab some attention. He’s saying that Michael ultimately “got what he wanted” – what he wanted being propofol. And Kevorkian says Dr. Conrad Murray, who administered the fatal dosage to Jackson, is not to blame and the ultimate responsibility rests with Michael.
Dr. Jack Kevorkian defended Michael Jackson’s doctor Conrad Murray, who is the sole target of the investigation into the late pop star’s death by injection.
On Wednesday the now-paroled Kevorkian, 81, told Neil Cavuto, “I don’t think he was malicious. Murder is defined as miles of forethought… Did the doctor have forethought? I doubt it.”
Murray says he injected Jackson with heavy sedatives including the anesthetic propofol at the singer’s request.
“Maybe Jackson craved these things so much he pestered the doctor until he got it.” Kevorkian added, “The patient got what he wanted. He is the one who said yes or no to take a drug.”
[From the Huffington Post]
While people argue over Kevorkian’s own ethics, I think most medical ethicists would agree that the ultimate responsibility rests with a doctor, not the patient. Just because a patient wants something doesn’t mean he gets it. We’re not talking about a toddler wearing down their parent until they give in and give them a lollipop. If I just really really really wanted a valium drip, I couldn’t just demand it and expect to get it. Even if I went doctor shopping and someone finally gave in and gave me that valium and something bad happened as a result, it is ultimately on the doctor. They’re the ones with the complete medical knowledge. Yeah I shouldn’t have been trying to get my IV narcotic fix, but it’s ultimately their job to say no. I just got really lost in my own scenario. You see what I’m saying though.
Michael Jackson shouldn’t have been trying to get propofol. But he was. And it was the responsibility of every doctor he pestered to say no. Doctors are simply held to a higher standard. They have more education and a more thorough understanding of how these things work. I seriously doubt Michael Jackson knew the odds were so good he’d die from the propofol. But Murray did.
Michael Jackson and Eddie Murphy are shown in 1989. Credit: PRN/PRPhotos
This is just another example of the rich and famous getting what they want at any price. Michael wanted the drug and he found a Doctor in financial trouble who would be willing to forgo his own moral compass and give him what he wanted. However, Micheal is totally complicit in his own death. It does not forgive the Doctor though, who should have said no. That’s his job.
Kevorkian needs to STFU! Michael Jackson got what he wanted because a greedy, irresponsible hack of a doctor GAVE him what he wanted.
What decent doctor, who treats people to better their health, gives a patient whatever they ask for? You give a patient what they NEED for their condition, NOT what they WANT. What Jackson NEEDED was a doctor to tell him NO, and advise him to seek help and stop giving in to him. Dr.Murray was too busy lining his pockets with money and bragging to friends and his girlfriend that he was MJ’s private doctor, that he could have given a damn less that he was harming his patient.
Jackson was an addict. Now what normal doctor gives an addict anything he wants. He knew Jackson was an addict, yet he continued to administer drugs to him all for the sake of keeping his cushy job. He gave the man a lethal dose of Propofol, all the while knowing that he had given Jackson other drugs previous to administering the Propofol. He caused the death of Jackson by giving him drugs that were illegally obtained, and he gave drugs to a known addict. He deserves whatever the punishment is for said crime, and make no mistake, what Murray did was criminal.
As for Kevorkian, I wish he would use his own methods on himself. He is and always has been a bloody fool and a joke!
P.S=IMO Kevorkian is NOT a doctor.
I am not opposed to Kevorkian or the concepts of assisted suicide (in the case of TERMINALLY ILL patients). That said, this is completely ridiculous. Since when do patients get to tell doctors what the want and get it? That’s the doctor’s job and clearly this doctor didn’t know what the hell he was doing. Not to mention, he ran off and used the phone instead of saving a life. Michael Jackson did not ask for this. Today is a sad day for anyone who cared about Michael at all and comments like this are so inflammatory and negative I wouldn’t know where to begin.
RIP, MJ.
“First do no harm.”
Did Murray know he was violating the hippocratic oath and harming Jackson with the parade of sedatives?
OH yeah.
A patient is under the care and consult of a physician, not calling the tune, and any good doctor would assert themselves accordingly.
End of the day, Murray’s guilty of at least one of three things: 1. he’s incompetent in his profession 2. he’s a murderer or 3. he performed an assisted suicide – still illegal and still murder in the eyes of some.
Well, if it hadn’t been this doctor, it would have been another. When people are addicted to a substance, they will find a way to get it.
It is sad that Michael Jackson had more greedy enablers around him than real friends, but these are the consequences.
Jackson was warned yet persisted. If Murray is charged and the case goes to trial we’ll see an interesting witness parade. Jackson had used drugs 25-30 and years voiced concern he would die like Elvis.
Medical ethics, good luck! There was a long list of docs globally that provided him with the best his $$$ could buy.
(I knew of a doc, NoCal hospital who performed over 750 angioplasty’s on patients who didn’t need it. He lost his medical license, and no charges were filed against him.)
Dr. Kevorkian sounds like a comic book supervillain.
In my opinion Michael Jackson killed himself by taking all these drugs. Michael Jackson did get what he wanted. I can’t believe they are calling this a homicide. Why are other drug related deaths of famous people not considered to be a homicide? Elvis was pumped full of drugs by doctors and whoever else and this lead to his death. There is no statute of limitation on murder why don’t those that “killed” Elvis have to pay?? I am so tired of all this hoopla about Michael Jackson the man was a pervert who molested little boys. Just wait, I am sure many decades from now his children will write books about how he molested them. Why are people putting him up on a pedestal???
All he claimed he wanted was was children and to provided them a happy family life and then abandoned them back to the horrible pit in which he was raised.. RIP You creepy Dumbo.
Jeane, clearly you’ve never read ‘The Fantastic Armenian Four.’
As a doctor, you DO NOT prescibe medications because they ask for them!
So it is okay that this doctor did this because hell, if he hadn’t given Jackson the Propofol and other meds, another one would have? Murray is supposed to diagnose and treat patients. Not let the patient tell him what the problem is and how to solve it.
What he did was illegal, irresponsible and done for greed and job security. I am certain as they delve in Dr. Murray’s background, they are going to find that this isn’t the first patient he has done this type of thing for. He is a greedy hack who would do anything to have money. He did it with Jackson.
Jackson was a sick man, mentally and physically, and you don’t need to be a doctor to see that. So if teh rest of the world could see that he was a sick drug addict, why didn’t Murray realize that and quit the bitch as others had? He stayed around for the prestige, perks and greed.
Hell, I would love some diet pills and some valium but if I went to a doctor and asked for them, the doctor would laugh me out of his office. I want a million dollars, do you think if I go to the bank and tell them that is what I want, I am going to walk out with a brief case full of green backs? Just because you ask for something, does not mean you are going to get it, should get it or that it is even remotely possible. Murray made it possible for Jackson to continue being an addict. Addicts need help, not enablers!
By the way, my father is a doctor, and it is ILLEGAL to prescribe medications not necessary for patients, it is also IILLEGAL to obtain medications for a patient in the name of someone else. It is also ILLEGAL to obtain and use Propofol outside of a hospital or outpatient surgery setting. It is also ILLEGAL to knowingly prescibe drugs to anyone who is an addcit or had a has a history of drug addcition. Meaning, if you are treating them for something specific and that drug is needed fine, but if you know or suspect that a patient has a substance abuse problem, you cannot prescribe medications that can lead to them harming themselves or death. You, as the doctor are held responsible.
Heath Ledger got what he wanted and Anna Nicole too
Can you imagine every person getting what he wants from a doctor?? Any presciption?? Imagine if you can have any medication you want… This person should shut up, read what he is saying and get lost.
@Kim- But in the Anna Nicole Smith case, those that helped her addiction are facing criminal charges as well.
it’s pretty f**cked up that Dr.KEVORKIAN said he got what he wanted! Even though later in the article it said he meant the drugs.
I don’t think Dr. Kevorkian should ever be allowed to say “he/she/it got what they wanted” ever because it sounds totally evil when he says it!
mike got what he wanted. the doctor is being scapegoated.
How is the doctor being used as a scapegoat? Seriously, do you not understand he broke the law in several different ways.
It does not matter that Jackson wanted the drugs, it matters that the doctor prescribed things to him that he did not need, he also wrote scrips for Jackson using others people’s names, he used Propofol outside of a hospital environment . He broke every ethical and legal code possible that a doctor could do.
So effing what if Jackson was an addict, that does not mean that a doctor can give a man a constant stream of prescription meds, and a lethal dose of Propofol and not face consequences for those actions.
He died from a lethal overdose of Propofol. Dr.Murray gave him that dose, outside of a hospital and left the room while the “patient ” was on the IV drip. Negligent homicide. It does not matter if Murray gave Jackson what he wanted, it matters that he overdosed him and went about obtaining the Propofol and administering it illegally.
Also, if this doctor had administered a lethal dose of Propofol to one of your relatives and did all of the illegal things that he did, I doubt any of you would be saying “Well, my relative asked for it” you all would be wanting his head on a platter and him thrown in jail, throwing away the key. The fact that it is Jackson and that he was an alleged child molester and a drug addict, that makes Murray’s actions okay in your eyes. If it happened to someone you had a connection with personally, you would not be so dismissive of the kindly doctors actions. If you knew a member of your family was a drug addict and it was proven that the relative had a doctor feelgood who fed that habit, no one would be saying “Oh well, he got what he asked for” It is called malpractice and negligent homicide. Look both of those things up and see if those terms do no apply here.
So childish, the comments on here. Kevorkian is right. People with MJ’s money and stature get what they want, when they want it or,just like the nanny that got fired for trying to set up an intervention with MJ’s family, y’get canned. This doctor had poor judgement, but MJ didn’t want to live. If he did he’d’ve smartened the eff up, got off the drugs instead of indulging himself and he’d be alive today. THis dumbazz doctor was in debt past his eyeballs – to be fired by MJ would’ve meant no career ever again…not that it matters now. Michael Jackson was an addict, people, an addict. He’s where he wanted to be – “out of pain.” He was a 50 year adult addict. He was giving himself meds in addition to the yahoo doctor. It p’s me to no end that people don’t want to admit that MJ was responsible for himself all along.
‘Nuff said.
Bill Hicks, you’re killing me. (so to speak)
Doesn’t matter what MJ wanted. If drug addiction is a disease and it’s a doctors job to block medication from someone with a problem then the Dr.’s involved are at fault.
Not that it excuses the doctor’s lack of ethics, but you cannot tell me that Michael Jackson didn’t realize how dangerous it was to basically put himself in a coma every night!
Frankly, the only people I have any pity for are his kids. They must be devastated by the loss of their father, and the last thing they need is to see these paternity rumors splashed across the news. I know there’s a lot of public curiosity, but the media should show some respect, and give those kids’ feelings top priority. If they decide when they’re older to seek the truth about their biological father, fine, but it’s really none of our business.
MJ wanted to get some sleep and wake up — he had kids and I’m sure never dreamed that this would happen — an addict’s dilusion.
Anonymous, homicide does not always equal murder. Homicide simply means that one person died at the hands of another whether it be intentional (murder) or unintentional (manslaughter).
Michael Jackson was an addict, but he didn’t give himself the fatal IV of Propofol, Dr. Murray did. Not only did Dr. Murray give it to him, he did it illegally knowing Michael did not need it, knowing that it should never be used outside of a hospital setting, did not have Michael hooked up to proper monitoring equipment, knew Michael had been in rehab previously and I believe told police he knew/suspected Michael was still an addict and prescribing anything to an addict unless it is absolutely 100% needed is illegal, and most importantly he gave it to Michael knowing it could possibly kill him so the term homicide is very correct even if it isn’t murder. Did Michael play a part in his death? Yes he did BUT, that doesn’t erase Dr. Murray’s part in this. What Dr. Murray did is negligent homicide at least. Elvis and Heath Ledger died after taking too many pills they knew they shouldn’t be taking and did so in their own homes where their doctors could not see/know what exactly they were doing. Had they died as a result of an IV of Propofol administered by their doctors those doctors would have atleast faced the prospect of being charged also.
It is possible that Michael Jackson had a death wish. Several doctors had refused to give him the propofol, saying it was too dangerous. Maybe some stars think that the rules for ordinary people just don’t apply to them.
If his problem was that he couldn’t sleep, Michael should have tried to find a solution other than drugs. Maybe therapy? I think the whole thing is really sad, what a waste of an incredible talent.
I think that Michael Jackson did not want to go on tour and was pressured into it from his family and handlers; this is why he got the Dr to give him an overdose. This way he got his wish to go out like Elvis.
It is too bad that the kids do not know who their biological parents are; this is unfair to them to be denied their roots.
OK I’ve had it with this creep (MJ). It has been over TWO months since he gave up the ghost. What were his family waiting for, him to rise from the coffin and fly up to heaven? Think of the rotting flesh or burnt ashes that have been sitting there for this long. Maybe I don’t read all the articles with the legal stuff that describes why DJ AM can be given a decent burial in TWO days and MJ takes over TWO months. You’d think he’s the leader of some cult like L Ron Hubbard. My life has been going down the crapper lately and the least of my problems is that MJ is still not resting in peace.
YoMamma: Jews don’t embalm and their dead have to buried within 5-7 days or something like that. Same with Muslims.
Plastic on the other hand can sit around forever…
Radio said today he was buried in full makeup and a wig and the kids put letters for him in the coffin.
Ick! Hope there was a mail slot or somethin….
No one has really uttered the word addict for MJ and that’s what he was. So was Marilyn Monroe, Heath Ledger, River Phoenix, John Belushi, Anna Nicole, the list goes on and on. I think Dr. K. is wrong saying “he got what he wanted.” Most addicts just want the high to blot out their pain 24/7. They know each time they get high it’s a risk, but they also feel kinda invincible because they’re experienced drug users not experienced medical personnel. So they push it a little more each time and it also takes more drugs each time for the same effect. MJ’s doc probably should get involuntary manslaughter at best and lose his license, but ain’t no way it was murder. Who else would pay the doc 100k a month to be their personal physician; why would he kill his gravy train?
I wept when my best friend got his MD and took his Oath.
It’s a very deep personal experience for a REAL doctor.
It’s also something many MDs (cough) throw out the window when they get money or another pharmacuetical sales person (we’ve all seen them peddling their wares in the lobby) strolls through the door promising kick-backs for pushing all kinds of crap on us.
Really, many MD’s have sold out to the drug companies and the wealth.
Think about THAT when you bring home a stupid pen with an new drug name on it from your Doc’s office.
The MJ thing is just the grossest of an epidemic.