Fan Vigils for MJ Fizzle

Rousing the troops gets harder every time, who wants to be seen supporting child molestation?

Several vigils organised to show support for Michael Jackson have generated only a lukewarm turnout. Online fan clubs of the pop legend had arranged a well-publicised series of candlelit events in cities across the world.

But in LA, New York, Montreal and Paris only a handful of supporters responded.

….Media interest in the superstar performer has been intense, but in New York a total of only 30 loyal fans turned out to vigils in Times Square and Manhattan.

They wore Jackson T-shirts and carried placards with the slogans “Michael is innocent” and “It’s the press who are scum”, reported news agency AFP.

In Paris, fans gathered on the Champs Elysees and walked to the Arc de Triomphe.

Holding candles, they sang We Are the World, the 1985 African famine relief hit written by Jackson and Lionel Richie.

“It’s really hard for us,” Pascale Hatot told news agency AP.

“I haven’t been able to sleep or eat for three days.”

But the strength of feeling was not reflected in turnout – only 60 fans attended.

The vigils met with a similar response in other cities, with only six fans attending in Montreal, Canada, and handfuls in Rome and Toronto.

An event on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles – in Jackson’s home state of California – attracted 25 fans.

….But a passer-by at one of the New York vigils said the low turnout reflected low public support for Jackson.

“If that’s the best they could manage, I guess it kind of sums up how many people really think Jackson’s innocent,” said Jeanine Baylis as she left Times Square. [BBC]

Ooh, cold. I am trying to concetrate on the “innocent until proven guilty” angle, but separately, this tells us how much Jackson has worn out his welcome – he is no longer “the world.”