He divided opinion in life, and in death Michael Jackson has had the same polarising effect. His star-studded Los Angeles memorial has drawn praise from fans who felt it a fitting tribute, and criticism from commentators who thought Jackson's 11-year-old daughter should not have been placed in front of the world's cameras.

Hastily arranged in response to a world-wide outpouring of grief, the televised event, held yesterday morning, hit the mark for the Los Angeles Times. While writers Geoff Boucher and Maria Elena Fernandez agreed that the memorial at times resembled a concert, they decided it was a fitting end to the King of Pop’s life: “They brought Michael Jackson to the one place where his life always made sense - beneath a spotlight and in front of his adoring fans.”

The New York Times described the spectacle, that took place at sports and entertainment arena The Staples Center, as “a star-studded live concert infused with all the pageantry, sorrow and ghoulish curiosity that attends the untimely demise of a beloved, troubled superstar.”

But on the web, debate raged as to whether so much attention should be given to a fallen pop star, who was, for the final years of his life, a virtual recluse, still living in the shadow cast by the child abuse allegations he had beaten in court.

“What absolute unmitigated American twaddle this programme was. Full of publicity-seeking showbiz and political hasbeens - and it was on British TV - it makes me sick,” wrote a Times Online reader from Leeds.

Another reader from Belfast agreed that it was “a chance for celebrities to congratulate themselves on being so emotional”.

Meanwhile, the American website Politico.com poured scorn on the extravagant gestures made by some of the memorial’s speakers. In response to Texas congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee’s announcement that she had penned a resolution to have Jackson honoured as a “global humanitarian”, the site posted: “Democrats from conservative districts are almost visibly queasy about the prospect of honouring Jackson further.”

Politico then quoted a member of the House of Representatives as saying: “There’s no appetite for this. We have too many other things to deal with right now.”

But British broadcaster Paul Gambaccini, speaking on Radio 1, said that the memorial was appropriate.

“Is this what Michael would have wanted? I believe Michael Jackson would have wanted to go out with a show.

“He was, after all, one of the greatest showmen in history.”

The Times columnist Caitlin Moran was less impressed, commenting that the many speakers ignored the reality of Jackson’s famously troubled life to present an unrecognisably rosy version.

“Michael Jackson: A Memorial proved, again and again, that talking about Michael Jackson often leads to hyperbole and fact-fudging and wrongness,” she wrote.

The Sun’s gossip editor, Gordon Smart, went further, calling the memorial “a macabre circus”. He criticised the Jackson family for allowing the star’s daughter to address the audience as she sobbed.

“Paris didn't look comfortable and more importantly, capable, of doing it.”

His opinion was echoed across the world, with Times Online readers quick to send their sympathies to the 11-year-old.

June, from Madrid, Spain, wrote “The service was much more dignified than I had expected but "exhibiting" MJ’s daughter at the end of the ceremony was cheap and tacky.”

Debbie Cheetham from Oldham, Manchester, agreed: “I doubt very much that Mr Jackson would have wanted his children so much in the public eye at all. I felt they were forced onto the stage”.

But Jackson’s famously loyal fans have been quick to combat the criticism, bombarding news websites, blogs and Twitter feeds with praise for the memorial.

“This was a human being we are talking about here. It was not tacky, it was respectful and beautiful,” commented Abi, of London, on Times Online.

“What a respectful and tasteful way to say goodbye,” agreed Chloe Rose Foster of Wetherby.

But it was a Twitter post by Sam GrapeJuice that perhaps best summed up fans' response to Jackson's sudden death and the emotional memorial: “Michael Jackson: 1958-Forever!”

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