Most of Michael Jackson’s real fans, including me, have spent their hard-earned money to travel from all over the world to Los Angeles and pay their respects to the King of Pop at the Beverly Hills home where he died, the Hollywood Walk of Fame next to his star, his Neverland Ranch, his parents’ Encino home, the Forest Lawn Cemetery where his body is being laid to rest and The Staples Center where a star-studded public memorial will be held.
Only problem is most of these estimated 250,000-750,000 fans won’t be able to get closer than a half mile of the memorial on Tuesday because they didn’t receive one of the 17,500 free tickets given away to the memorial.


None of the people I talked to as I lined up to sign Michael Jackson’s wall at the Staples Center on Sunday received an email notification to pick up two free tickets. And no one on the Walk of Fame or at the Beverly Hills mansion where he died.
This is because 1.6 million random people from around the world were allowed to register for tickets with no intention of even attending Michael Jackson’s memorial. Instead, they are staying at home and scalping the tickets on eBay for as much as $25,000 while MJ’s real fans are kept on the perimeter of his memorial.
Rob O’Sullivan of Houston is one of these unscrupulous ticket scalpers offering $15,000 for the rights to his two tickets on eBay. He was interviewed on The Today Show on Monday morning and admitted that he had no intention of actually coming to L.A. to attend the memorial.
The memorial costs $2.5 million, and The Staples Center and the cash-strapped city of L.A. gave away 17,500 free tickets at staplescenter.com, and now ticket scalpers are trying to make money off free tickets to a funeral. How sad.
I hope no one pays these scalpers because it’s criminal that Michael Jackson’s real fans are being kept from his memorial and because these scalpers are only selling their email verification to receive tickets. In order to get the actual tickets, the buyer would have to show up at L.A.’s Dodger stadium with a valid I.D. of the actual person who received the email.

The real memorial is the tearful fan gatherings from people all over the world at the home of Jackson’s death, Neverland and his parents’ home where fans are able to hang out where Michael Jackson actually was and lay down candles, hand-written posters, banners, and flowers for the King of Pop that will be around long before the lights turn off for the “public” memorial at The Staples Center.

By Teneshia LaFaye

Buy a limited edition I Was There, King of Pop Commemorative Journal featuring many of these stories to remember the positive side of Michael Jackson’s life. The journal went on sale at the pop icon’s public memorial in L.A., and a limited supply is left over. Don’t let this moment pass you by. Get the journal while supplies last as a keepsake for MJ’s passing with spaces for your personal experience and pictures.

To receive your copy, please send $8 per copy in cash or money order to King of Pop Journal, 3832-10 Baymeadows Rd., Suite 205, Jacksonville, FL 32217 and make sure your name and address is on the envelope.

Or you can buy now for $7.35:

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