"You heard the one about Michael Jackson?" was how most of the school yard jokes of the 80's and 90's started. Yes, MJ was the butt of jokes. But at the Michael Jackson trial, the accuser had met the pop icon at the Laugh Factory on Sunset. So those testifying at his trial looked like comedy tour line up: Jay Leno, George Lopez, Fritz Coleman and Louise Palanker. There was a gag order that Leno couldn't do any MJ jokes during the trial.

Anyway, it's a strange dynamic. Michael Jackson dying effectively took 99% of the jokes about him with him. Gobsmacking talent indeed.

We found what Louise Palanker had to say about Michael Jackson on her website. It's a sharp contrast to the televised barrage of fawning hangers-on for the past two weeks.

His death was tragic. His life was more tragic. Loving his music will not wish away his flaws. If you're taking issue with me, this is where you'll argue, "He was found innocent in a court of law." Not exactly. He was found "not guilty." So was O.J. Simpson. So was Robert Blake. The first jury in the Phil Spector trial hung.

It's difficult asking a jury to take responsibility for the incarceration of a famous celebrity. They are not, after all, "a jury of his peers." Who among us is peer to Michael Jackson?

The whole post is here.