Music

Michael Jackson confirmed dead

by John Lucas on June 25th, 2009 at 4:12 PM

The rumours surfaced earlier today, and now most media outlets and press services are reporting it as fact: Michael Jackson is dead at 50.

The Los Angeles Times reported that, according to city and law enforcement sources, the pop star was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon after arriving at a hospital in a deep coma.

The Times quoted Steve Ruda of the Los Angeles Fire Department as saying that paramedics responded to a 911 call at Jackson's rented Bel Air house at 12:26 p.m. Finding him not breathing, they performed CPR on him and then rushed him to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

Jackson, who had been in rehearsals for a series of 50 sold-out shows slated for London's O2 Arena, reportedly died with family members at his bedside. The cause of his death, initially speculated to be a heart attack, has not been confirmed.

Comments

10 Comments

MICHAEL FALCONI

Jun 25, 2009 at 6:16pm

I am DEEPLY saddened and completely devistated by the shocking occurance of MICHAEL JACKSON's sudden death . My heart , my prayers go out to his family , his mother and his children and of curse his adoring fans around the world . A True Legend , Musical genius , Beautifuland amazinf singer and dancer and The King has gone to the heavens . may his memory of love , of genius of brillants and of music be remembered , cherished and practiced thru out the world . May u rest in peace my KING OF POP MICHAEL JACKSON

Michael Falconi

www.myspace.com/michaelfalconi

soundspeed

Jun 26, 2009 at 9:56am

Children around the world are breathing a sigh of relief now that the streets have one less creepy pedophile to worry about. May he rest in peace in hell for his lewd behaviour towards children. I don't care how talented he was, he was also a creep.

Mike green

Jun 26, 2009 at 1:08pm

Whoa, heavy soundspeed. Was he ever actually charged with anything? He was the best dancer in the world. Maybe a little creepy, but doesn't end up strange and unusual when you live in the media your whole entire life.

soundspeed

Jun 26, 2009 at 3:43pm

If Robert Pickton was a better dancer, would he have to appeal with the Supreme Court of Canada?

Steve Newton

Jun 26, 2009 at 3:45pm

I wonder what's gonna happen to all that Beatles music he owned the rights to. If Latoya inherits it we're in trouble.

cosmicstraight

Jun 26, 2009 at 4:19pm

Hey Soundspeed, he "beat the charges" in 2004 when it became apparent from the testimony of the family accusing him that their allegations were bs. As for the Chandlers, the kid's father was recorded saying "If I go through with this, I win big-time. There's no way I lose. I will get everything I want and they will be destroyed forever...Michael's career will be over."

If your kid was truly molested by the most famous entertainer in the world, would you settle for *any* amount of money? Especially when a conviction would have ensured their success in a lawsuit?

Michael Jackson was certainly weird and deserving of critisism, but you have no proof that he was a pedophile.

John Lucas

Jun 26, 2009 at 4:20pm

For the record, Jackson faced accusations of child molestation twice. In the first case, in 1993, the accuser (Evan Chandler, father of the alleged victim) accepted a $22 million out of court settlement for a civil suit against Jackson. Chandler refused to testify in criminal proceedings, and the case was dropped due to lack of evidence, with Jackson not having been charged.

In the second case, 10 years later, Jackson was found not guilty after an exhaustive five-month trial.

Compare him to Pickton all you like, but the fact remains that he was never convicted of anything, and no evidence of his guilt has ever surfaced.

mike green

Jun 26, 2009 at 4:29pm

In Canada? Dancing doesn't get you very far, but I guess the bodies of dead prostitues gave him away. Sure, if there were bodies of dead boys in Neverland, then you can keep on hating.

soundspped

Jun 26, 2009 at 6:01pm

I'll agree to disagree with those of you who are on MJ's side. May he rest in peace, regardless of his being guilty or not. I was never a fan of his music as a kid in the 80s and never understood his mass appeal, but maybe that's just me.

For the record, I wasn't trying to compare him to Pickton. Pickton is a monster in comparison to MJ. I just found it odd in not only Mike Green's post, but in the majority of comments/posts about MJ all over the internet today (twitter, facebook, etc) most people seemed to say, "Who cares if he's guilty? He was a great dancer and singer!" In my book, having all the talent in the world doesn't exonerate anyone of a crime. In MJ's book, having lots of money to afford teams of high-priced lawyers and out of court settlements exonerated him on more than one occasion.

cosmicstraight, I know what the ramifications are of being able to convict the guy, but I also know that to someone like Mr. Chandler $22 million is a lot of money, and money talks to a lot of people, as sad as that may sound. Also, the charges against him didn't seem like bs until Jackson's team of lawyers managed to be able to dismiss various pieces of evidence due to all manner of legal loopholes.

Anyway, enough about the guy. I'm off to enjoy my weekend. I wonder how much longer I'll be hearing his music everywhere I go. Even a bank was playing his music today. Strange.