Rev. Al Sharpton praises Michael Jackson as 'historic figure'

Once again, Al Sharpton uses other peoples' pain and suffering to promote himself. His interview was all about Al Sharpton, not really about Michael. In a stunning hypocrisy, Mr. Sharpton (he is no Rev. regardless of who licensed him to pretend to be one) says "no controversy will take away from... " I just wonder how many white men who confessed to sleeping with minor boys would hypocrite Sharpton support? And when will he apologize to all the white boys from Duke that he crucified with no proof and was later proven to be wrong? I pray for Michael Jackson's family, and for his victims. None of which has anything to do with Al Sharpton, opportunist racist extraordinaire.

I second everything IndependentVoter said. What a fraud.

One less perv on the planet...good riddance.

I guess...Congress' apology for slavery was what he was finally waiting for. Now, he goes in peace to be with the (Greek) gods. " Bend over, Mikey...welcome to heaven !" With any luck...Sharpton won't be too far behind.

Any chance we can cremate Al Sharpton along with Michael? That way he'll be encased in plastic and can't escape.

It is an absolute tragedy that someone so talented could have such a negative self image that he would allow himself to be disfigured in such a bazarded fashion.

I couldn't have summed it up better myself than what has been allready said. Anytime there is grief with some popular figure among the black community you will see Al Sharpton tryin to get in the limelite to ride the wave for more publicity. What a piece of trash who is only interested in seeing how much controversy he can generate and how much money he can put in his pocket at the expense of others. He's one of the most racist people out there and needs to be put in his place for sure. He also needs to change his name to "SHARKton not sharpton. Thats all he is a bloodthirsty shark waiting for someone to prey upon for no reason.

No matter how you cut it, Michael Jackson was still a pedophile and ignoring that to praise him does a disservice to his victims.

If michael jackson was so proud of his race, why did he do whatever he could to make himself look white?

Michael jckson was a nut case homo who paid $22 million to his victim's parents to keep from going to jail. In life he was a circus attraction...not unlike the bearded lady. In death...he'll soon be forgotten. RIP Mike...if Sharpton lets you.

Keeping it real on Michael Jackson. The White people who pimped his butt are missing him already. MJ was one of the few "Black Artists" permitted to crossover at will. The man actually grew whiter in life and married Elvis' daughter. That's power. I'm not a fan because I believe in "Justice for All." How many kids are "Screaming?" Not guilty? Yeah, right! Only God can judge him. The people mourning stand to profit.

To Cecil and the rest of you IDIOTS that are dogging him. DUMB MOFO's he's DEAD

Can you respect that?

DAMN!

Maybe my critique of "The King of Pop" was over the top or too soon..."Hell No!" OJ Simpson is an historic figure. The man won the Heisman and he achieved celebrity in Hollywood. What a man does doesn't prevent him from being held accountable. I just happen to think that "Moon Walking and Grabbing Crotches" doesn't get a pass in Court or the Court of Public Opinion. I'm betting that now that the truth can come it, all those kids who suffered in silence will come out. Don't hate me for having a different focus. Michael Jackson is being judge by a much higher standard than some of us offer. I'm not trying to be mean because "His legacy is his music." No doubt it has value, but I value kids and honesty far more.

I was truely impacted by Micheal Jackson's larger that life talent! What a loss! Prayers to his family, and everyone impacted by him. I only hate some of in his personal life gave a drama hungry media something to feed on. And to the haters! I hope you get the grace and mercy that you refuse to show him and his family in such a hard time for them. So let only love be returned to you for your HATRED.

Friday evening? and "Sharpton also credited Sharpton as a leading force behind the song "We Are The World." Wow, who wrote this article???

After reading the hate filled comments here, I had to check the web address to be certain I wasn't on Sean Hannity's website. Some of you are truly filled with vitriol and evil! Just kill yourselves!

MR (not Rev) Al Sharpton. On your various encounters with the Jackson family (prior to yesterday), have you ever witnessed and proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the necessity of every person to repent and trust in the Lord? Spreading the Gospel is what REAL pastors (and non lay people) do. Michael Jackson's destiny is already sealed based on his acceptance (or not) of the free gift of Jesus Christ. Or perhaps you only shared the false social gospel.

Shaquitta you seem to be the one filled with hate and vitriol. Let me teach you something about "Bias." Your emotions don't let you see the whole truth about the complexity of MJ's life. You fight to preserve what you liked about him and I'm thinking of the millions he got from us to pay off those kids he "allegedly" didn't violate. If MJ's truth could be known to all, how many others would be showing your "Bias" or my vitrol? I'm not ready to grant him Sainthood because he made "Thriller." Nobody can deny his contributions. I say "Let God Judge MJ." Beware the truth that can be silenced by cold hard cash.

Cecil - are you taking anti-depressants for your misery and dejection? If so, you need to see a new doctor or try a new drug, cuz your sadness with life is transparent. You poor thang!

Shaq, didn't you make these allegations before? I pointed out your bias for MJ and you are the one who is depressed. I'm not celebrating the death of an Icon the same way you seem to be. If Michael Jackson was found guilty would he be getting this Sainthood? Grieve, but come back to reality. Stop dipping into my personal psyche because my opinion is better than your. I'm not depressed or medicated. I'm just good at what I do. I make you do what it does be evil and ugly. Pay me if you want but I'm no Sean Hannity.

Its clear that Michael Jackson was a once in a lifetime talent and musical genius. His accomplishments in the industry will never be equalled. I do NOT understand why Sharpton and J.J. have to get involved at all! The guy had some troubles in his life and a tragic ending, let him rest in peace and we can enjoy his music for many more generations. Al and JJ, go home, you clowns are nothing but a couple of ambulance chasers.

Once again the Rev Sharpton getting involved in something he should keep his BIG MOUTH out of .. and just be a close friend to the Jackson Family in their time of sadness ,Instead of running his BIG MOUTH about how MJ was the African Americans King of POP,he came before Tiger Woods , Oprah Winfrey and Barcak Obama ,We dont need him to tell us that. Get a grip Rev , Michael Jackson was the king of POP to ALL colors , WHITE , Black ,Yellow, purple ,Orange he sang it in his songs, It dont Matter if Your Black or White, he was and will always be a genius in the music industy. His destiny will live on in his music for ALL people. Rest in Peace Michael .. We ALL will miss you.

The title of this story goes without saying and said it all....

"I do NOT understand why Sharpton and J.J. have to get involved at all! " They have both long been family friends and friends of Michael. They were brought in at the request of the family.

I am so disappointed in Al Sharpton. He is supposed to stand up for our African American communities and against racism, yet everytime he opens his mouth racists words come out. He was very inappropriate today slamming the media over the coverage of Michael Jackson's death. The loss of Michael Jackson has been felt throughout the world, not only in the black community and the coverage has been extensive and extremely fair. Poor Farah Fawcitt's coverage ended immediately when Michael Jackson died; yet you don't see an "Al Sharpton" out screaming of the unfairness of the media coverage regarding her death. Al Sharpton says we've all been negative and unfair toward Michael Jackson and implies this is due to skin color. He says that all other celebrities who have died received better treatment. (Well, Mr. Sharpton...I'm a caucasion and I've not thought ONCE about what color skin Michael Jackson had - I just loved him for his fabulous entertainment skills)! How quickly Mr. Sharpton forgets. Wasn't that long ago that Ana Nichole Smith died -and her coverage was also extensive but her history and her mistakes were laid out daily in the media (far as I recall, she had light color skin Mr. Sharpton). If he really wants to stand for fairness in our country, he should speak up in fairness for everyone, not just those with the same skin color as his. He should quit trying to stir up hate and cause problems where there are NONE! Thank you CNN of your always fair and equal coverage!!

Is it really necessary to attack the dead? I agree with Al Sharpton. Michael Jackson was the best entertainer of our time. It's not about black or white. Who gives a shit? We are all the same inside. Look into your own closet. I bet it's not so clean.

"Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of color way before Tiger Woods, way before Oprah Winfrey, way before Barack Obama," Sharpton said. Opps, for a second i forgot about the existence of racism in the world. But wait its ok, Al is here to remind me.

Amen Rev, I know Al and Jesse are both itching to play a big part in the funeral, I'm wondering which one gets to be the family pick for the services (or do you have to be a real 'man of the cloth'?). It's a big loss to music lovers everywhere, lets leave the family alone to grieve, and stop the coffin riders. It isn't and shouldn't be a question of race.

AL SHARPTON SHOULDN'T BE AT MICHAEL JACKSON FUNERAL OR JOE JACKSON THEY ARE JUST THERE FOR PUBLICITY I'M WATCHING THE FUNERAL RIGHT NOW AND THE IDIOTS IS PREACHING AND YELLING AT A FUNERAL HE IS SO TACKY LIKE I SAID AL SHARPTON IS FAKE THERE HAVE BEEN NO WHITE SPEAKERS. TO ME THIS IS A RACIST FUNERAL FOR ONE OF THE BEST PERFORMERS BUT THERE IS MORE LIKE THE BEATLES AND THE BEE GEES

Why Al? why? This wasn't an assasination! Don't lecture me on the signifigance of his life. For the love of everything holy, stop using peoples sufferings as your own pole vault into your pulpit! Silence is more powerful than loud ignorance!

from Africa, Mr Jackson we respect and will always praise as a living icon.

RIP MIKE

Im from South Africa, and am not of the opinion that the media will have me be.I hear all these comments above, each one tryin to sound like they know better.We just may all be wrong about Micheal.But hey, in response to Cecil Jones and the like...You say what if MJ was found guilty, well he wasnt.And what about a family who can accept an outa court settlement for the so-called-wrongdoing of MJ against their son? Im a mom, and if that were my son, no money would call off my need to tell the world thru to the bitter end, what an evil person MJ was. YOU THINK ABOUT THE FLIP SIDE TOO. And to provoke thinking outside what the media would have you do,heres ONE MORE CECIL JONES: Even if Micheal saw this ase thru to the end wth Jordy Chandler, he stood to loose either way!BECAUSE YOU ARE MJ you are found guilty before the outcome, as these things take time to reach closure, and if you are found innocent, because lets say you really are, nobody gives you back your dignity/respect, and people forever remain with doubts about you cos' A SEED HAS BEEN PLANTED and its sometimes is all it was meant to be, but now, amazingly, who's to say if its tru that Jordy admitted to the whole thing about LYING BOUT MJ AND HID DAD MADE HIM DO IT?

You see im a Christian too like most, and I never forget, how hard our hearts were and obviously still are.We were given Christ, someone who was born like us, ate like us, looked like us, so we could relate and accept easily, but no,no,no, HE was too good to be true, and when we dont understand something as a people, we fear it, and because of that fear we destroy it.Thats what we do! And nothing has changed.This is history repeating itself, and dont misunderstand me, for lack of a better example at the time i compare MJ's story to Christ' story.Nobody accused of molesting children, go thru the whole court thing, and still invite boys to his house, unless he really and truly could not disadvantage other kids because of the evil adults who use their kids for extortion, I think people become hateful when others become so famous and rich because of a God given talent that needed no degree, to achieve the level of stardom MJ did.But i choose to say we never will really know for sure, but the truth is with us, its a matter of time. I can bekieve what its like to be blamed for something so dispicable, that goes against the heart of your principle and beliefs, it really can kill your spirit to the point where you cant sleep at night.Murderers and thieves, live with what they have done, they dont take drugs to help them sleep.Its what they are.WHAT CAN MAKE SOMEONE NEED SUCH STRONG DRUGS TO HELP YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT? God sends us a great being every now and then, intended to keep hope alive, as he cannot come down in proverbial form and be with us, we just will never accept or belive it until we personally see it come from the clouds on a chariot, and even that will have a name 'ALIEN' Here it is, the correct title for a movie, a book whatever... "Micheal Jackson, the most Misunderstood" and hey... i never said he didnt do some queer things or go overboard on others, im saying our flaws are in a closet cos' we not famous, BUT WE HAVE OURS... WE ARE FLAWED, and HE WAS TOO, LIKE ANY HUMAN, but does that qualify him to be called peadophile? WACKO? Oh, GOD SEES IT ALL, BUT WAITS.But just because of a few ridicules vs the many more good MJ did, GOD SAW THAT HE SURVIVED AND COULD SURVIVE, BUT HE HAS NOW REPOSESSED HIS GOODS....MJ respected for the countless good done, and the ability touch lives of those who b=never even had the opportunity of meeting you in person. GOD BLESS THE SOULD THAT RESTED WITHIN THAT BODY(only the covering)It sure did survive 50 long years of everything, but MJ did well. He (GOD)will say WELL DONE TOO

Sorry Al Crapton Michael was not black.

Well, MJ has been memorialized and his body still remains unaccounted for waiting to be buried-I think. Let me get to the point and focus on why I was so critical of Rev. Al Sharptongue. Why did I accuse him of using this tragedy and so many others as an opportunity to help himself? Inside the Black Church, they have a program for "Visiting Reverends." A visitor can go into any congregation and say a few words and cash in on the "Collection Plate." Al Sharpton gets paid to rev up the Black Community. The more anger he stirs the greater the payout for him. Rev. Sharpton does the Black Community a disservice everytime he injects race into an issue. He doesn't look for solutions or ways to move us forward. He profits from spitting obscenities from "The Back of the Bus." That only helps him and he gets paid to do it. We need new leadership and we all know it. I'm not afraid to say it because I've been saying "We Can" long before Obama listened to me and won. Wouldn't it have been great if someone picked up the check for his memorial? KFC should have paid for the commercial MJ and Magic gave them.

Al Sharpton was invited by the family. Micheal's daughter was the first to stand to applaud his comments. If MJ's family wanted Al to speak, it's their choice so screw all the critics out there. If you don't like it put on your Bing Crosby records and STFU.. Please.. Al was right and his family acknowledged it so give it a break. If you don't like MJ, cool. But save us from your self righteous garbage.. I doubt most of you care about the children and are using it as an tool to beat on MJ which is shameful and disgusting. Al is a rabble rouser and has made some stupid, racist remarks before, but he also asked for leniency for the white kid who tried to kill him. He has also admitted his racism and apologised before. We don't hear this crap about Russ Limbaugh or Imus and thier racist comments.

Al Sharpton pushing for a holiday for that freak mikey....is like asking congress to make a Geoffry Domer holiday..... What on earth is to celebrate a little black boy, wanting to be little white woman,,,and molesting babies along the way???/whats wrong with you people????

Since you have all the answers why don't your ignorant ass tell us what's wrong with us.

First since you Axed me... I am capable of writing a complete coherant sentence with the actual use of the english language. Second...you all need to get off your high horse and remember ignorance comes with lack of education. Maybe if you went back to school and actually completed a course, ( you might wanna give English or Grammer a try) you could type a proper sentence and then we could have a real conversation. I can tell how intelligent you are by the name calling, and use of cursing to try and convey your idea.

Rev. Al says that Michael Jackson should be remembered as a historic figure. Tell me Al, how do you get around the part where he molests those kids he slept with or because he's Michael Jackson it doesn't matter. I knew a guy growing up who did that who got away with it and still does it too this day, but you know it's probably no big deal. He's probably just a historic figure.

Why are you idiots getting on here talking crap about education and nonsense? Obviously jfpeas you're not attending an ivy league school yourself or you wouldn't be spending your spare time blogging your repressed hostility against blacks via the internet. Get a hobby, you aren’t fooling anyone. Additionally grow some balls and say it to someone's face, or don’t say it at all little white boy. As far as MJ LeeAnn said it best, no parent in their right mind would settle a law suit against a person that allegedly molested their child for any amount unless A. they were horrible parents, or B. they were full of shit. I find it unbelievable that a parent would even let their child who has CANCER stay over night with anyone they barely knew unless there was an ulterior motive. It's also true that regardless of what course of action he took the initial case was a lose lose for him. He could have been innocent, went to trial and taken his chances with 12 jury members who would have had to take his word over a child cancer patients. He also could have paid the parents to simply end the bad coverage of the false claims. Lord knows as a celebrity the longer you are in the spotlight in a negative way the more it brings down your market value, and considering the lengths that he was famous for going to preserve his image the latter seems the more plausible conclusion. I think the morons on here that are criticizing anyone else’s rational for defending Michael need to realize that the DA never brought charges against MJ either.....Think about that for a second really hard. Take as much time as you need, because even if you pay off the witnesses to a crime the state can still charge you with the evidence that they have. The DA did not seek charges because without the child saying that he was molested there was absolutely no evidence to support their claims, which would make it a horrible case against him. If the only evidence to be had at all was hearsay, which wouldn't stand up in small claims court, what new indisputable evidence is it that helped to influence the rational of all you cretens that are thoroughly convinced that he did it. Even if you try to introduce the fact that he was accused a second time that argument doesn’t stand up either since the second case was resoundingly rejected on all counts as a fabrication. Considering how private a man he was, and be all accounts of people that actually knew him, genuinely naive to the “perception” factor in regular patrons, he probably never felt that having children was wrong if they were truly innocent encounters. We all walk freely where ever we go, we’ve also been allowed to have fairly normal lives where we can mature and learn things on our own. He did not, he’s had to be an adult since 10 years old. It’s widely reported that he had severe psychological issues about never having a child hood of his own, hence he not only continuously helped and kept around special needs children but also reached out to other child stars who reportedly had the same experience as he did such as Macalle Culkin, Corey Feldman, and Brook Shields. Human behavior is pretty easy to interpret when you actually pay attention. I think he got swindled by the first family for $20,000,000, but tried not to let that distrustful mentality that we all have from instinctively assuming the worst of people for so long creep in by continuing to live his life as he had before. When the second charge came around, the ugliness of our nature finally took hold. Few may know this but MJ was a huge fan of Howard Hughes, who was equally as controversial and equally genius. When Hughes died there were plenty of critics who came out of the wood work jealously trying to minimize the monumental accomplishments of his life to the simplicity of his scandals. What do you expect of lesser minded fools though? That is precisely what a hater does. They know above all that they cannot and will not have greatness of their own so they see to rob it of others. Silly kids, you all make me laugh. To all of you I say, you are clowns, and as much as you try to downgrade MJ his accomplishments are clearly beyond you or you wouldn’t be on here getting out your angst with all the other mediocre people. As far as Sharpton, I do believe in the past he has taken it too far with the cue card rhetoric….. on numerous occasions. He has concentrated his message of late, however. If you actually watched the news broadcasts after the memorial though he said that he was there to defend MJ as a friend to the family rather than a representative of a black America. We don’t need a representative, the black upper to middle class has increased, the rate of blacks that have acquired college degrees have increased, we took the white house had the rest of the world backing us while we did it. If anything ignorant racist whites (not intelligent, normal whites) and Republicans should start getting representation, we’re Eddie Murphy and you all are Dan Akroyd we’re about to be Trading Places. Jfpeas, you’re on the outs!!

Revision: he probably never felt that having children OVER was wrong if they were truly innocent encounters