Kobe Bryant, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, Usher and Lionel Richie are among the celebrities who will participate in Michael Jackson's memorial service Tuesday morning at L.A.'s Staples Center, Usmagazine.com has confirmed.
Also attending: Ron Boyd (family friend); Kobe Bryant; Andrae Crouch Choir; Berry Gordy; Shaheen Jafargholi (finalist on Britain's Got Talent); Magic Johnson; Martin Luther King III; Bernice A. King; John Mayer; Lionel Richie; Smokey Robinson; Rev. Al Sharpton; Brooke Shields; Pastor Lucious Smith (family friend) and Stevie Wonder.
No word on the stars' specific roles at the service.
Three people who will not be attending?
Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe, who backed out of going because "her attendance would be an unnecessary distraction to an event that should focus exclusively on Michael's legacy," said attorney Marta Almli.
Jackson's cardiologist, Conrad Murray, who was with the King of Pop when he died June 25 after suffering cardiac arrest, also is skipping.
Jackson's dear friend, Elizabeth Taylor, posted on Twitter why she won't be going to the event.
"I just don't believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others. How I feel is between us. Not a public event," she wrote. "I said I wouldn't go to the Staples Center, and I certainly don't want to become a part of it. I love him too much."
More than 1.6 million fans registered online for a chance to attend the Staples Center ceremony, and only 8,750 names were chosen
