Michael Jackson's funeral to be open to the public.

Plans for Michael Jackson's funeral are slowly coming together. His father, Joe Jackson, announced that the memorial will be large and open to the public. No doubt the turnout for the ceremony will be extraordinary. If there's one thing Michael Jackson's death has proven, it's that his fans and all those who loved him have not gotten less loyal over the years.

Speaking at a press conference, Joe Jackson revealed that as of yet, there is no date for the funeral as the family is not planning to set a date until they know exactly how Michael died. A first autopsy proved inconclusive, and the family is now awaiting the results of a second one. Said Joe Jackson, "We aren't ready for [releasing information on the funeral.] We don't have the time frame yet because we want to see when the private autopsy comes out."

Addressing Michael Jackson's fans he said, "The family and I are very proud to see all of you come out here and help us with this whole situation because we know that we do have fans all over the world and we know that we're loved all over the world. But one thing that I wish could have happened - I wish that Michael could be here to see all of this. [We] had to wait until something happened like this before it could be realized. Michael was a superstar... he was loved all over the world."

Joe Jackson also addressed the criticism he's received for plugging his record label on Sunday night while being interviewed on the red carpet at the BET awards. In response to some people's criticisms that it was the wrong time and place for such a plug, Jackson said, "Now I was asked that question and I answered just like it was asked because they wanted to know what else I was doing." Because we do believe Joe Jackson is genuinely in mourning, we'll bite our tongues.