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Fan Tickets to Jackson Memorial to be Lottery
July 03, 2009
Service organizers stressed that tickets would not be sold and urged the public to respect the family’s wishes and not attempt to profit if they were lucky enough to get a ticket. Fans also worried that people might try to make a buck. “I like this plan. I think that it’s really, really dignified,” said Atlanta resident Deborah Houston, 55, in town to visit relatives. “But unfortunately I think people are going to try to sell tickets to this.” She’s doing her part to ensure tickets land in the hands of true fans. “I got on the phone and told my nieces and nephews to get online and try to get some.”
Just before ticketing details were announced, a report surfaced that a powerful drug was found in Jackson’s home. A law-enforcement official told the Associated Press that the sedative Diprivan was discovered. The drug, also known as Propofol, is an intravenous anesthetic usually used in operating rooms to induce unconsciousness, something not usually found in a private home.
Meanwhile, the California Attorney General’s office is joining the investigation into inappropriate prescribing of drugs by Jackson’s physicians. The office will assist Los Angeles police in retrieving data from the state drug database as they look for doctor names, dates and dosages. (They also assisted in the Anna Nicole Smith case.)
On Thursday, Jackson’s older brother Jermaine spoke out in an interview with the Today show, saying that he would be “hurt” if toxicology results indicated that his brother’s death was drug-related.
“In this business, the pressures and things that you go through, you never know what one turns to,” he said. “I don’t know about these things, because I hate anything with drugs.”
In other Jackson news:
AEG, which was producing Jackson’s scheduled This Is It Tour, is seeking to recoup the money lost from the tour cancellation via a tribute show, movie or album. There’s 100 hours of high-definition Jackson video footage, said CEO Randy Phillips, plus the company is considering producing a Michael Jackson tribute concert at London’s O2 Arena, the venue in which Jackson was scheduled to perform.
The hearing to determine guardianship for Jackson’s children is now scheduled for July 13, delayed due to a request of ex-wife Debbie Rowe’s attorneys. Rowe is reportedly still deciding whether to seek custody of the children she had with Jackson. She is the mother of Michael Jr., 12, and Paris, 11. Jackson’s youngest child, Prince Michael, 7, was born to an anonymous surrogate.
