A Fiery Letter from the Michael Jackson Foundation to Discovery

You know that Michael Jackson’s autopsy program is planned to air in January on Discovery. For weeks, fans have been sending their emails and protest letters to this network, but they haven’t received a proper response. They have also set up an online protest form. (Sign) (Join the Call to Send Protest Emails) Now, the trustees of the Michael Jackson Foundation, John Branca and John McClain, have sent a fiery letter to Discovery’s president and CEO, David Zaslav. (Get This Letter in Image Format) In the letter, they described Discovery’s performance as “astonishingly bad taste”: “Your decision to produce and air this program is astonishingly bad taste and indifferent to Michael’s family’s feelings, and it appears to be driven solely by your blind motivation to profit from Michael’s death. You are trying to deceive people by claiming this program contains important scientific values.” The letter specifically refers to an advertisement for the program, in which a body is shown lying on an autopsy table and covered with a white sheet, while the hand of the body—embroidered with a white, sequined glove—falls out from under the sheet. The white glove is, in a way, a universal flag of the Pop King. The foundation described the ad as “sickening,” “nauseating,” and “heartless,” saying: “We were especially hard-pressed and deeply upset by the nauseating advertisement related to this program.” Although Branca and McClain are aware of their lack of legal ability to stop the program from airing, they are trying to persuade Discovery to adhere to ethics and halt the broadcast. Discovery has refused to comment on the letter. Source: eMJey / TMZ / hollywoodreporter.com