U.S. congressman under fire for questioning heavy media coverage of Jackson

LOS ANGELES, July 7 (Xinhua) -- American pop king Michael Jackson has been covered so heavily by American media even after his death and the public seemed to enjoy it, but not U.S. Congressman Peter King who got himself under fire.

Jackson was really treated like a king by the media after his death. News of his death became front page news not only in the United States, but also in many other countries. The media has been trying to report anything about this pop singer.

U.S. Congressman Peter King was the first and only politician to come out in public to criticize the media and the pop singer.

Standing in front of an American Legion Hall building, the U.S. congressman, a Republican from New York, complained that people fighting in Iraq don't get much credit and that the soldiers should be the ones recognized instead of Jackson .

"This guy was a pervert. He was a child molester. He was a pedophile," King said.

The congressman said the media has "disgraced itself," noting that there are people dying everyday.

"There are men and women dying today in Afghanistan. Let's give them the credit they deserve," he added.

"And to be giving this much coverage to him, day in and day out, what does it say about our country?" asked King, whose remarks were showed in a video in the YouTube website.

The congressman got himself under fire with his remarks.

Joni Reynolds, a Daily Voice columnist, called King's remarks a "hateful tirade" and questioned his motivation.

He said Jackson settled out of court in early 1990s when he was accused of child abuse. In 2005 he was acquitted of all charges. This would mean he is and was not guilty.

Reynolds questioned King's motivation by saying that "This guy while known as a conservative Republican in New York was not a household name, but now he is."

"It galls me when someone utters hateful words and then tries to cloak them in patriotism," Reynolds continued.

"King achieved his goal we all are talking about him and he is now another pathetic person just trying to get a little of the Jackson spotlight," said Reynolds.

Most of the comments from thedailyvoice.com website are against the congressman.

Julie said in her comment that King is such a jerk and his comment makes her sick.

"The man is dead and was acquitted of those charges with no one being able to prove one shred of what he was accused of and sadly I feel that shortened his life. I hope no one votes for someone who would have that type of attitude toward someone who did a lot of good for people and made people smile," she wrote.

Marietta wrote in her comment that Jackson was a huge donator to charitable organizations. He supported 39 charitable organizations either with monetary donations through sponsorships of their projects or the participation in their activities.