Michael Jackson's Home and Possessions to be Sold at Auction

The contents of Jackson's former home in Holmby Hills, California, will hit the auction block on December 17th. Among the things to be auctioned off is the late singer's bed in which he spent his final moments and a chalkboard from the kitchen with a note from one of Jackson's children that reads: "I (heart) Daddy. SMILE, it's for free." Is is distasteful to hold an auction like this? Probably. But not according to Darren Julien, the president of Julien's Auctions, who simply stated, "we want to preserve the history of these items."

I'm not sure how hawking the personal possessions of someone so recently deceased just to make a profit off their big name could be considered a respectful form of preservation, but that's just me. MJ's mother, Katherine, seems to feel the same way however. In a statement released by her lawyer, she claimed to know of the auctions, but to have "done everything we can to ascertain that items from this address are not being auctioned using Michael's name and likeness to enhance the items' value." According to AP, the house itself will not be auctioned.