Excerpts from the Diary of a Diva

Dear Media, I'm completely vexed with your coverage of Michael Jackson. Don't get me wrong, I understand that the King of Pop was a person of interest whose every move was scrutinized both in life and now in death. I get that his very existence is going to be picked apart and exposed for all the world to see. After all, this is the information age, and that's how we do it. However, I would implore you to remember that for all Jackson was or was not, he was still a human being. Even though he had millions of dollars, he still had to put on his clothes like everyone else. He cracked jokes, played with his kids, and loved his mother. His family and his friends loved him before he was ever moonwalked across a stage. And they're hurting right now. As Janet put it on the BET Awards, "To you he was an icon, but to us, he was family." How would you feel if every bad thing your brother had done was on the front page of every newspaper? As a mother, could you really han...

You know, I'm not one of those people who gets bugged out by celebrities. After all, I've worked in the entertainment industry most of my adult life. Even though I haven't everyone I'd like to yet, I've been fortunate enough to meet some of the ones who've gone on before -- Luther Vandross, Gerald Levert, Aaliyah, to name a few. Unfortunately for me, that list does not include Michael Jackson. And now, thanks to his untimely death at the tender age of 50, I never will. I am so hurt by Michael's death, and I couldn't figure out why. Then I started reminiscing about my first encounters with his music... Because my mother wasn't a fan of the Jackson 5 -- don't ask me why -- their music wasn't in my house. Marvin Gaye, yes. Curtis Mayfield, yes. The O'Jays, The Spinners, Gladys Knight & The Pips? Yes, yes, yes. We even had Natalie Cole and The Emotions. But no Jackson 5. When I was in the third grade, my teacher, Mrs. Heldt, would let us ...