by KYW's Bob Nelson
There's no question: the memorial service for Michael Jackson is a unique event for a generation of music fans.
And while only a limited number of mourners are allowed to attend in person (see related story), it is without question a banner event for television.
However, for all the repetition of Jackson's singular life and times, there have been a few naysayers.
The Rev. Al Sharpton admires Michael Jackson and said as much in his Sunday sermon. But he calls the media coverage of Jackson's passing "disgraceful and disrespectful."
Sharpton (at left with Michael's father Joe Jackson in photo above) says Michael Jackson is being denied the same reverence as such other fallen idols as Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra:
"When you've had other entertainers that had questions in their lives, you did not degrade and denigrate them before their funeral like you've done Michael Jackson."
And US congressman Peter King (R-NY) says he's had enough of the wall-to-wall coverage of Jackson's death -- for different reasons:
"This guy was a pervert, a child molester. He was a pedophile. And to be giving this much coverage to him day in and day out, what does this says about us as a country? No one wants to stand up and say, we don't need Michael Jackson!"
WATCH THE VIDEO: REP. PETER KING (NY)
Jackson was acquitted of child molestation charges in his California trial. But in death as in life, Michael Jackson remains a center of controversy.
PHOTO GALLERY: Jackson Funeral Preparations
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