Posted by The auction will not go on as scheduled. Julien’s Auctions has agreed with Michael Jackson to stop the auction of memorabilia which had been scheduled for later this month. Here’s a snippet from a biased report at ABCNews:
Julien’s Auctions will return the gloves, statues, crowns and cars to Michael Jackson on April 25 rather than sell them to an eager public.
“Both parties, Julien’s Auctions and Michael Jackson, agree to halt the auction,” Martin J. Nolan, Executive Director of Julien’s Auctions told ABC News Tuesday night. “All items will remain intact as one collection and will be returned to Michael Jackson.”
“Both sides agree to make a generous donation to Music Cares, the charity founded by the Recording Academy,” added Nolan.
Prior to the Tuesday evening legal agreement, the auction was scheduled to run April 21 until April 25 and generate upwards of $30 million from the 1,390 items on sale. To placate Jackson’s many fans, the collection will still be open to public viewing until April 25 for a charge of $20 per head.
According to Jackson reps, Jackson was supposed to have the right to go through the memorabilia and offer up selected items for auction. Julien’s Auctions put the entire block of merchandise up for auction without allowing Jackson the opportunity to make a final decision. Jackson sued and failed, then took the complaint to the appeals court.
But either Julien’s Auctions had a change of heart or there was fear the auction house would lose during the appeals process, because the auction is off.
Reportedly, a joint statement released by both sides hints that the items won’t be sold at all. Here’s a snip from artinfo.com:
“There was so much interest from so many of Jackson’s fans that instead of putting the items in the hands of private collectors, Dr. Tohme and Julien’s Auction House have made arrangements that will allow the collection to be shared with and enjoyed by Jackson’s fans for many years to come,” said a somewhat cryptic statement from Jackson spokesman Tohme R. Tohme and auction organizer Darren Julien. (see Michael Jackson auction cancelled)
Too bad for those wishing to write some overly dramatic, inaccuracy-laden drivel with headlines like ‘pauper Jackson has stuff sold out from under him’. If you hear an unidentifiable sound today, those are the collective groans of a hateful mass of so-called reporters.