Celebrity gossip magazine OK! has courted controversy again in another bid to boost sales by publishing an official Michael Jackson tribute edition showing a disturbing cover photo of the superstar barely moments before his tragic death.
OK!, the UK's bestselling celebrity lifestyle magazine, is known to have paid around £300,000 for exclusive rights to the picture, showing Jackson's mouth covered by an oxygen mask as paramedics frantically attempted to resuscitate him.
The photograph has sparked outrage, with members of the public launching a petition in an attempt to prevent the magazine from selling more copies.
OK! acknowledged that it used the picture to differentiate the magazine from other titles running their own tribute editions.
But fans have branded the cover as sick, distasteful and a violation of Jackson's rights to a dignified death.
This latest storm is reminiscent of the recent furore surrounding the magazine's publication of a Jade Goody tribute edition, which went on sale several days before the reality star lost her battle with cancer.
In the case of Goody, OK! jumped the gun in a badly timed attempt to be first off the press to cover her death.
However, sales rocketed on the back of the controversy and it comes as no surprise to the PR profession that OK! repeated the formula following the sudden death of the pop sensation.
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