The auction of Michael Jackson's personal possessions is proceeding, regardless of a dispute about some items supposedly taken against Jackson's wishes, according to media reports Wednesday.
Approximately 2,000 items belonging to Michael Jackson from the abandoned Neverland Ranch and other places will be auctioned in Beverly Hills during the five-day auction, scheduled for April 21-25.
The auction was originally planned to relieve Jackson's financial troubles in the past few years. But Jackson recently sold out 50 concerts at London's O2 Arena, a lengthy run that he'll need to defray his mounting financial woes.
He is now suing to stop the sale, but Julien's Auctions said it will go on regardless.
Auctioneer Darren Julien says that one of Jackson's associate told him that the singer had already removed any personal items he wished to keep, and the associate encouraged him "to take whatever property we thought we could sell at auction or that would have value ... chandeliers, fireplace mantles, carpets and even the brass oven hoods in the kitchens."
Julien says he did return some belongings to Jackson, "including some items that I believed might be embarrassing to him."
The April sale at the Beverly Hilton Hotel by Julien's Auctions will be broadcast on U.S. television and online by the Auction Network.
(Xinhua/Agencies March 25, 2009)