US House speaker rejects Jackson tribute

10 Jul 2009, 10:29 am   -   Source: AAP
Share This

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has shot down calls for a formal congressional measure honouring Michael Jackson.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has shot down calls for a formal congressional measure honouring Michael Jackson, warning a debate might air unpleasant "contrary views" about the late "King of Pop."

"I don't think it's necessary for us to have a resolution," the California Democrat told reporters on Thursday, days after Democratic Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee held up her bill to honour Jackson's life and work.

"A resolution, I think, would open up to contrary views that are not necessary at this time to be expressed in association with a resolution whose purpose is quite different," she said, in an apparent reference to allegations of sexual abuse that swirled around the deceased pop superstar.

At the internationally televised tribute to Jackson on Tuesday, Jackson-Lee held aloft a framed copy of legislation declaring him "a global humanitarian and a noted leader in the fight against worldwide hunger and medical crises."

The measure would further praise Jackson "as an accomplished contributor to the worlds of arts and entertainment, scientific advances in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, and global food security."

Pelosi said Jackson "was a great, great performer, and lots of sadness there for many reasons" and that House members should feel free "to express their sympathy or their praise any time that they wish."

"If the idea is to praise the life and work, as I assume that resolution does, then why not do that?" she said.

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube