Tuesday, 7 July 2009

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Elizabeth Taylor: Jackson wouldn't have wanted me at memorial

Jacko's close friend will not be paying tribute in public

Elizabeth Taylor with Michael Jackson in 2000

Pouring out her grief on her Twitter page, Elizabeth Taylor says she's going to skip Michael Jackson's memorial – and she feels the pop star would have approved of her decision.

"I just don't believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others. How I feel is between us. Not a public event," she writes.

Taylor, 77, one of Jackson's closest friends, says she was asked to speak at the Tuesday event at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. "I cannot be part of the public whoopla," she writes. "And I cannot guarantee that I would be coherent to say a word."

Instead, she's expressing herself in writing. "I will always love Michael from the depth of my being and nothing can separate us." And, she adds, "My love goes out to Katherine and Michael's beloved children."

Mike Fleeman