Janet Jackson has issued a statement on her website from lawyers for the faction of Michael Jackson’s siblings who are still working to have his will declared invalid. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s Janet, Randy and Rebbie. Jermaine and Tito used to be on their side, but both have since joined the “this is crazy” camp for whatever reasons. Their lawyers claim that Michael’s siblings are just concerned about the current executors and want to make sure that the guardianship and will are settled “in a manner that is in the best interests of the children.” This is what Randy tried to claim a couple of weeks ago, but he’s of course half a million in debt and tried to get the estate to pay his child support. Here’s part of the statement:

Since the loss of Michael, Janet, Randy, and Rebbie’s principal concern has been and continues to be for the safety and well-being of Michael’s children, their mother Katherine Jackson, and the entire family. Unfortunately, those people have been harmed by the actions of the executors of Michael’s estate…

The negative media campaign generated by the executors and their agents has been relentless. In recent weeks, the media has received preposterous reports – all now proven to be false – of a purported kidnapping of Katherine Jackson and of physical and verbal abuse of a child. The executors and their agents also recently issued a notice barring Janet, Randy, and Rebbie from visiting their 82 year old mother and Michael’s children. The effect of that notice not only is to damage fundamental family relationships, it is also to isolate Katherine Jackson from anyone questioning the validity of Michael’s will.

It is important to stress that Janet, Randy and Rebbie have questioned the validity of the will with no financial motive whatsoever – they stand to gain nothing financially by a finding that the will is invalid… Michael’s children will be the beneficiaries of Michael’s estate. What will be gained by a finding of invalidity is that the executors will be replaced and the estate and the guardianship will be managed in a manner that is in the best interests of the children, which is what Michael wanted. The individuals who have the most to lose by a finding that the will is invalid are, of course, the executors and those on the executors’ payroll.

Janet, Randy and Rebbie will continue to press forward in their search for the truth in order to carry out the wishes of their brother Michael.

[From JanetJackson.com via Starpulse]

I have a feeling these three are going to be wholly unsuccessful. And if they just have the best interests of the children at heart, why did they try to ambush them at home, and why has Janet only seen them a handful of times since their father died? Janet may not have slapped or “verbally abused” Paris, but there’s video of her trying to swipe Paris’ cell phone. That’s not “best interests,” that’s damage control for Paris’ tweets. Also, it might be true that Katherine wasn’t “kidnapped” per se, but she admitted in court that her cell phone and iPad were taken away and that the phone and television in her hotel room were both disabled.

Meanwhile TMZ reports that Katherine isn’t going to press charges against her children for the little vacation they forced her on without allowing her to contact the grandchildren she was supposed to be caring for. Her lawyer issued a statement suggesting that Katherine wasn’t too pleased about it, though. He told TMZ “This chapter of chaos is closed and we are supportive of family unity in spite of recent events and arguably poor decisions.” Decisions that Janet, Randy and Rebbie are sticking with come hell or high water.

Paris recently posted a photo on Istagram of a mural of Michael Jackson pictures behind her bed. She tweeted that it took her three hours. That’s sweet.

Rebbie Jackson:

Janet is shown at the Amfar Gala on 5-24-12. Rebbie is shown on 11-12-11.

When Katherine Jackson was re-emerging after her over week long “spa vacation” at the insistence of four of her children challenging Michael’s will, she claimed that she voluntarily gave up her phone during the trip. She also took pains to say that she wasn’t taken against her will, and was perfectly happy with her children. When Katherine made that pre-written statement, she was surrounded by five people and the one journalist there wasn’t allowed to ask any questions. Well now a new version is emerging, one that people suspected for some time. In new court papers requesting that Katherine share guardianship with Tito’s son, TJ, she claims to have been tricked into the trip and to have had her cell phone, iPad, and other access to the outside world taken away, including access to a television.

Katherine Jackson has submitted a sworn declaration that says she had no cell phone, no working television or telephone in her room at the Miraval spa, and had her iPad taken away, RadarOnline.com is reporting.

The papers also state she had no idea that Prince, Paris, and Blanket had been trying to reach her.

The Jackson family matriarch says a doctor was brought to the house on July 14, 2012, and “stating he had been in contact with my longtime personal physician and was coming to check on me because my personal physician was unavailable. The doctor advised that it was better for me to fly and not drive to New Mexico. Believing that the doctor was sent at the request of my longtime personal physician, I followed what I understood to be a doctor’s orders and boarded a flight as opposed to driving in the motorhome.”

Katherine says upon arrival at Miraval Spa in Tucson, Ariz. her cell phone was taken away, and “when one of the people asked if I could communicate with my iPad and I replied yes, my iPad was taken away. While there was a telephone in my room, the telephone was not functioning and I could not dial out. In addition, there was no picture on the television in my room.

“Despite repeated requests to those with me to have it fixed, the television was never fixed. One morning I woke up to the sound of the television. While there was no picture, I heard a broadcast that stated I was missing. I was also never told that my attorney, Perry Sanders, Jr. had flown to Tucson in an attempt to meet with me in person in attempts to find out what was going on.”

Jermaine, Janet, Rebbie, and Randy Jackson were staying with their mother at the Miraval Spa.

“I was never informed that Prince, Blanket, and TJ were trying to reach me. Had I known that fact, and if I had been provided with the means to contact Prince, Paris, Blanket and TJ, I would never have gone for such a long period of time without communicating with them.

“While I was away, I had no reason to question whether the people with whom I placed trust would inform me that Prince, Paris, and Blanket were trying to reach me. The day before I was brought home from Tucson, I was finally permitted to use the phone to speak with Prince, Paris, Blanket and TJ.”

Michael’s mom supports her grandson, TJ, being named as co-guardian of the children, and asked the judge for permission to take the kids to Gary, Indiana, for a birthday celebration for the late King of Pop.

“TJ and I along with Prince, Paris, and Blanket are planning to travel out of California toward the end of August for a family function that will include a celebration involving the memory of my grandchildren’s father, and my son, Michael. It is important that security planning and travel arrangements for the trip are made soon so that the trip can go forward.”

The judge signed off on allowing the kids to travel outside the state of California, as long as Katherine and TJ Jackson both agree. The duo are expected to be appointed permanent guardians of the children on August 22.

[From Radar Online]

This explains Jermaine’s change of heart recently – he was ashamed. He should be – who does this to their own mother? Also, Miraval tried to save face when this came out earlier by claiming that Katherine had a working phone in her room, but obviously that wasn’t true.

Fox News reports that plans for a Jackson family reunion, which takes place every summer, have been scrapped in light of this fiasco.

In terms of the children’s guardianship, there’s news that Diana Ross met with them, since she was named in Michael’s will as the children’s alternate guardian. Katherine’s lawyer explained that Diana needed to sign off on the new guardian. He described the meeting as “very thoughtful and pleasant.” Another source told Radar that Ross “only wants what is best for the children,” and that she “hasn’t been a big part of their lives because she lives on the East Coast,” but “is very fond of them.” And I thought those stories about Diana being named alternate guardian weren’t true.

Also, there’s news I heard on D-Listed that La Toya got a reality show on Oprah’s network. That just goes to show that Oprah is kind of scraping bottom, doesn’t it? Not that La Toya won’t be entertaining, especially if she’s interacting with her massively dysfunctional family.

In the ongoing saga of Michael Jackson’s Siblings vs. Michael Jackson’s Other Siblings, we used to have Jermaine, Randy, Janet, Rebbie and Tito on the “challenging the executors” aka “money grab” side, and Marlon and Jackie on the other side. (La Toya remained neutral and urged her family to keep it out of the press.) Around the time that Katherine Jackson was whisked away for an impromptu spa trip without telephone or internet access, Tito switched sides and issued a plea, along with Marlon and Jackie, to have his mother returned home to MJ’s children. Now another Jackson has switched sides. Jermaine, who was one of the three Jacksons who went to MJ’s children’s house to urge the kids to take a little trip to Arizona, has apologized for his part in that well publicized incident. He’s also withdrawing his name from the statement challenging the will and its current executors. Here’s Jermaine’s statement:

In a statement posted to Jermaine’s Twitter account, he says, “After much soul-searching, it is clearly time for us to live by Michael’s words about love not war. In this spirit, I offer this statement by way of extending an olive-branch. Accordingly, I rescind my signature from the letter which was sent to the Estate, and which should never have gone public. I still hold deep reservations about many issues involving the Estate, and I will continue to bring scrutiny and a resolute voice wherever we have cause for concern. But the way to address such matters is through the proper channels and via a private dialogue, not public conflict.”

As previously reported, Randy Jackson was responsible for hatching a family plot to overthrow Michael Jackson’s executors in an attempt to get his hands on part of the late King of Pop’s estimated $1 billion fortune. A letter demanding the executors’ resignation that was leaked to the media, was signed by Randy, Jermaine, Tito, Rebbie and Janet. Tito Jackson publicly said last week he also regretted signing the letter.

Jermaine also admits that Michael’s three children, Prince, Paris and Blanket were unable to talk to their then legal guardian, Katherine Jackson while she was away in Arizona.

“When she was away, and with the children in the responsible care of Tito’s son TJ, there was never a malicious attempt to ‘block’ the kids from talking with her. We simply worried that a call home would first entail, or lead to, conversations with individuals we are in dispute with and that would, therefore, increase pressure on Mother — and pressure was what a doctor said she didn’t need. This was why we went to the house in Calabasas to talk directly with the kids and merely discuss arrangements for them to meet with their grandmother. We were denied that access by security — and it was clear that mutual suspicions had allowed events to spiral out of control. I regret that events were ever allowed to reach such a stage. I regret any distress caused to Prince, Paris and Blanket. That was never, ever the intention of myself, Janet, Rebbie or Randy. Moving forward, the most effective way to best serve Mother’s welfare, and that of Michael’s children, is to start a collective dialogue, in private,” Jermaine revealed.

Jermaine ends the statement by saying, “Mistakes have been made and irrational things have been said on both sides in a highly-charged emotional environment. It is time for us all to draw a line in the sand and move towards peace, co-operation, love and healing. I truly hope that we can find it in our hearts to do so. Because above and beyond anything else, what matters…is family.”

[From Radar]

That was very well written and explains how the situation escalated – both sides didn’t trust the other’s intentions. (Radar has a breakdown on how Jermaine is fudging the truth, but I’m not going to get into that, you can read it there.) I’m still on “team kids,” because it seems like they were just defending themselves against an ambush, one their dad may have even prepared them for. For now they seem to be calling a truce. Paris, Prince and Blanket even went to see their uncles perform in the Unity Tour over the weekend. The Unity Tour consists of Tito, Jackie, Marlon and Jermaine Jackson, who are not-so-coincidentally all on the same side now that Jermaine has withdrawn his support from challenging the will.

Some of you have floated the theory that the executors are paying themselves exorbitant salaries and that’s why MJ’s siblings are so vocally speaking out against it. Even if that’s true, Michael made it clear that he didn’t want his brothers or sisters to get a dime. They’re fighting over money that doesn’t belong to them and probably never will. Radar recently reported that Randy, the ringleader on the money grab side, owes half a million dollars in child support. Jermaine owes child support too, to the same woman, Alejandra, since he married her and had two children with her after Randy broke up with her by marrying another woman without Alejandra’s knowledge. (You can’t make this up, read Wikipedia.) Both brothers have asked MJ’s estate to pay child support to their children from the same woman.

As for Janet’s claims that she isn’t in this for money and is just trying to show solidarity with Randy or something, US Weekly says she’s broke. In their latest issue they have source who claims Janet “has spent far more than she has made, so she needs the money.” Their source also adds that Janet isn’t a doting aunt to MJ’s kids and has “seen them maybe five times since Michael died and has no relationship with them.” Except when it comes to telling them what they should do, right?

Most of these photos are from the Unity Tour on 7-20-12. Credit: WENN.com

As you know, Tito’s son TJ Jackson, 34, was appointed temporary guardian of Michael’s three children after their grandmother Katherine disappeared for a week while under the care of some of her adult children. Katherine eventually returned, and she reportedly plans to file paperwork, in cooperation with TJ, for shared custody. (Along with presumably some of the massive cash that comes from Michael Jackson’s estate to provide for his children. A reported $86k a month.)

During Katherine’s “vacation,” there was an altercation between Janet, Randy and Micheal’s kids when Janet and Randy came to pick up the kids and bring them to Arizona to be with Katherine. The kids refused to go, their security team backed them up, and the whole incident showed just how far some members of the Jackson family were willing to go to control Micheal’s money. Well now Janet, Randy, Rebbie and Jermaine – the whole faction of Jacksons who are questioning the validity of Michael’s will and want to overthrow the estate’s executors – have been banned from the property, at TJ’s request. Here’s more, thanks to ETOnline:

Attorneys for the estate of Michael Jackson have confirmed to ET that Janet, Randy, Rebbie and Jermaine Jackson are currently prohibited from entering the Calabasas home shared by Paris, Prince, Blanket and Katherine Jackson.

Charles Shultz, an attorney for TJ Jackson, Jr. (who is temporarily sharing guardianship of Michael Jackson’s children with Katherine) helped to compile the list of persons no longer allowed on the Jackson family property in Calabasas– namely Janet, Randy, Rebbie and Jermaine Jackson.

In a statement to ET, attorneys for Michael Jackson’s estate write:

“Following the events of July 23 in which certain members of the Jackson family showed up unannounced at the Calabasas residence of Michael Jackson’s mother and children, causing a very public disturbance, the attorneys for the Estate of Michael Jackson as lessees of the house were requested by Charles Schultz, attorney for TJ Jackson, Jr., the newly appointed Temporary Guardian for Michael Jackson’s children, to send a list to the security gate of people neither TJ or the children wanted allowed on the premises in view of the incidents that had just taken place. The list may be amended and managed by TJ Jackson Jr. or the Estate when appropriate. It is imperative to the Estate that from this point forward a safe and appropriate environment be provided for Michael Jackson’s children and his mother.”

This comes just weeks after a relative reported Katherine Jackson missing, which heightened the ongoing dispute over the validity of Michael Jackson’s will — which leaves everything in the pop star’s lucrative estate to Katherine and his children. Five of Michael’s siblings recently claimed that Michael’s will was fake and they have demanded that the executors of his estate should resign.

The estate denies the allegations, which first emerged shortly after Michael Jackson died in June 2009 from an overdose of a powerful anesthetic.

[From ETOnline]

This is far from over. This isn’t just TMZ reporting that some Jacksons are barred from the home, as per an insider source, this is an official statement from the estate sending a clear message: back off.

Did you hear what Gladys Knight said about the incident in which Paris Jackson refused to let aunt Janet take away her cell phone? She said “I would think it’s a good thing [Janet] lets Paris know who she is. If [Paris] called me that, she would have no teeth. That’s how we were brought up. You respect your elders.” So she’s advocating hitting a 14 year-old girl in response to the girl swearing? I hope Gladys is basing her opinion on press reports and isn’t a close friend of Janet’s or anything. That’s despicable.

Meanwhile, Katherine is said to be “furious” with Randy for orchestrating the challenge of the will and trying to overthrow the executors. Randy is said to be the ringleader, and to have convinced Janet to join him along with Rebbie and Jermaine. (It’s allegedly not about money for Janet, but I doubt it.) Katherine didn’t realize what Randy and company were up to while she was holed up in Arizona, and is very upset that they tried to do it without her knowledge. She also is said to have told Randy to make sure this drama stays out of the press. Good luck with that. It’s not Paris’ fault for tweeting at all, someone else is putting this out there.

Oh and the judge presiding over the guardianship case for the Jackson children has called for an investigation into their care. It’s uncertain whether TJ and Katherine will be allowed to share custody, although they plan to request it.

Janet and Randy are shown outside court last fall. Janet is shown alone on 5-24-12. Credit: PCNPhotos, FameFlynet and WENN.com

The insane amount of details and breaking news on the Jackson family saga has been calming down now that Katherine Jackson has been returned to her grandchildren. It’s of course still not over. We’ve heard Katherine, 82, say that she wasn’t kidnapped by four of her adult children, and that she went to Arizona on her own accord. While Katherine read this statement to ABC news she was surrounded by four people and the single journalist who was there wasn’t allowed to ask a single question. TMZ described it as a “hostage situation.”

Now we’re hearing from Michael’s oldest child, Prince, 15. Prince backs up his sister Paris’ version of events, and even tweeted a screenshot of a text message conversation with three of his aunts to prove that he and his siblings were blocked from contacting his grandmother. Here’s what he wrote on Twitter, and I was impressed by how well written it was:

I would first like to start off this tweet by thanking the fans that have always stood by me and my family, my dad really appreciated your support and I still treasure it to this day. As I am sure everyone is well aware of the events that have been going on. I have been holding off on backing up my sister and her tweets avidly because I was waiting for the time to reveal my side. As long as I can remember my dad had repeatedly warned me of certain people and their ways. Although I am happy my grandma was returned, after speaking with her I realized how misguided and how badly she was lied to. I’m really angry and hurt. The following image is of a group chat I had started to several family members. This group text message I had started was replied to but they didn’t know that I could see the responses. For this whole time, they denied us contact to our grandmother. “If you continue with your lies I will continue with the truth”

[From Prince Jackson's Twitter]

There was a story that Prince’s Twitter account was “hacked” to post this message, but Paris claimed on Twitter that this tweet from Prince is genuine, and that the message claiming he was hacked was actually someone with unauthorized access trying to discredit him. She wrote:

“the thing my brother tweeted last night was the last true thing he tweeted.. he was hacked saying what we tweeted was false..”

These poor kids.

There’s of course a lot of other news in this case, and I’ll briefly include it here. A staff member for the Miraval resort where Katherine Jackson was staying last week has issued a statement claiming that she had full access to a working phone at all times. It looked to me like they comped part of her stay in exchange for the free publicity. (Their PR person was with them during Katherine’s statement and Katherine mentioned their name several times.) They probably realized that the circumstances made them look complicit in cutting Katherine off from the outside world.

Katherine is said to have had an “emotional reunion” with the kids with the youngest child, Blanket, 10, “especially traumatized by Katherine leaving because he is extremely close to her and was absolutely lost without her.” She’s since met with her lawyer about working to have her guardianship of the children reinstated after it was temporarily awarded to their cousin, TJ, in her absence. Katherine’s lawyer also denied reports that she suffered a stroke.

So what’s next for this incredibly dysfunctional family? How is Katherine going to serve as an effective guardian for the children when she seems to be so easily controlled by the faction of Jacksons working to take over Michael’s estate? Will safeguards be put in place to ensure that the kids aren’t separated from her again? It sounds like they’re trying to make sure that happens, but this lady is 82. She’s not going to be able to watch those kids forever. Hopefully she’ll be able to care for them until Prince is 18 and can legally stand on his own. We’ve seen that those kids definitely have the wherewithal to stand up to their greedy aunts and uncles.

After I wrote this story, the news broke that La Toya, the one sibling of Michael Jackson’s who had yet to take sides, has told TMZ off the record that she wants her family to work out their issues in private and not through the press. Who would have thought that La Toya would be the sane one?

Yesterday we heard about a confrontation at the home where Michael Jackson’s children were staying. Michael’s three children: Paris, Prince, and Blanket, were confronted by their aunt Janet and uncles Jermaine and Randy, who had arrived by private plane and had attempted, unsuccessfully, to get the children to come with them to Arizona. The police were called, the children’s security force stepped in, and it all sounded pretty serious.

This incident came after the children’s court-appointed caregiver, their 82 year-old grandmother Katherine Jackson, was taken to Arizona, (seemingly without the children’s knowledge although reports vary) for over a week. Katherine’s grandchildren were unable to contact her during that time and she did not phone or text them. Randy later issued a statement that claimed Katherine was cut off from technology on doctor’s orders. It was all shady as hell, and pointed to a money grab by Michael Jackson’s siblings, who were cut out of his will in favor of Michael’s mother, and his children.

There are a lot of new developments in this story, most notably allegations of violence during that confrontation with the children along with a surveillance video that has been released. I’ll just cover the highlights and link these stories below. The gist is that some of Michael’s siblings are doing whatever they can to get their hands on his fortune, and his kids are fighting back.

Note that Michael has three sisters: Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet, and five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy. Jermaine, Randy, Janet and Rebbie are behind the plot to overthrow the executors of MJ’s estate and signed a letter to that effect on July 17th. Tito previously supported the letter, but has since recanted. Marlon and Jackie have also come out against the letter, and LaToya has not yet made a statement.

We haven’t covered this story yet as it’s complicated, there are a lot of different versions floating around, and I was hoping it would be resolved without incident. Not so much. As you may have heard over the weekend, Michael Jackson’s mom Katherine, 82, went “missing” for over a week. Katherine is the primary caregiver for Michael’s three children: Prince, 15, Paris, 14, and Blanket, 10. A missing person’s report was filed on Katherine, an investigation ensued and has since been closed. Jermaine issued a statement that Katherine was resting in Arizona with her daughter, Rebbie, “following doctor’s orders to rest-up and de-stress, away from phones and computers.” Paris tweeted late Monday that she hadn’t spoken to her grandmother in 8 days and that “something is really off , this isn’t like her at all.”

Radar claims that the idea to whisk Katherine off for a week at “a spa” was Janet’s idea, who felt that the situation at home was too stressful for Katherine. TMZ confirms that the “chaos” at the house led to Katherine’s removal, but more than that Michael’s siblings want to challenge his will, which leaves 20% to Katherine and virtually nothing to them. E! has an article outlining all that’s at stake in this, and what would happen if Katherine was removed as the children’s guardian.

Meanwhile Michael’s children have a security team and are being cared for by a nanny. On Monday Jermaine, Randy and Janet went to Katherine’s Calabasas home in an attempt to remove the children, but security guards blocked them, Prince refused to go and the cops were called. The kids still haven’t spoken to their grandmother, according to Paris’ most recent tweets. However, paparazzi agency X17 claims that the children knew Katherine was leaving. They also have a photo of her playing Uno with family. Here’s more on the latest, thanks to Radar:

Jermaine, Randy and Janet Jackson have been barred from their mother Katherine’s Calabasas home after attempting to remove their brother Michael’s three children from the house on Monday, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting.

The situation adds to the ongoing drama with the Jackson family, as Katherine has been in Arizona for more than a week and hasn’t spoken to her grandchildren, of whom she is the legal guardian. “It was just total chaos when Jermaine, Randy and Janet descended on the house.

“Randy was telling Prince Michael he had to leave with them and that he had a private jet chartered to take them all to Arizona to see Katherine. Prince firmly held his ground and told Randy he wasn’t going anywhere with them. The security detail prevented the three of them from taking the kids out of state. The cops had to be called and Janet kept saying they had a legal right to be at the house when in fact they don’t. The rental house is in the name of Michael Jackson’s estate, so they were told to leave immediately. For the time being, they won’t be allowed to come back to the rental house and guards at the security gate have been told under no circumstances are they to allow them in. Paris was absolutely hysterical and kept telling her uncles to just bring her grandmother home,” a source close to the situation tells RadarOnline.com.

“The plan to take the kids out of the house was going to be a publicity stunt. The kids were going to be paraded into the house in Arizona where Katherine is staying and those photos would be published on a website favored by Randy Jackson.”

As previously reported Janet was behind Katherine’s removal from her home to Arizona, after becoming adamant that her mom needed bed rest and to be checked out by an independent doctor. And a source has revealed that Katherine is doing just fine.

“Katherine is very well,” a family member told RadarOnline.com. “Janet was behind the whole thing – she felt that Katherine needed medical help and was desperate for her to get some bed rest.”

“Michael’s children are being cared for by their nanny and legal options are being explored about ensuring their safety. The children are very, very smart and they are surrounded by excellent bodyguards that won’t allow anything unsavory to happen to them. The kids just want their grandmother back, and want the family drama to end. Now that Paris and Prince are old enough, they understand why Michael didn’t have much of a relationship with anyone in the family except for Katherine,” the source says.

[From Radar Online]

What a mess this is, and how unfair it is to the kids. They lost their dad, and now their aunts and uncles are trying to take their grandmother from them in order to get their mitts on their late dad’s money. They’ve been placed in a very tough spot, and good for them for standing their ground. From the interviews I’ve seen with Paris, she comes across as very mature and even humble. I hope those kids stick together and refuse to be manipulated. They should inherit their dad’s money as he intended, but obviously their relatives want it for themselves.

As for Katherine’s health, she was at “a spa” not a hospital. Paris tweeted some insight about her grandmother’s condition. “the same doctor that testified on behalf of dr murray saying my father was a drug addict (a lie) is caring for my grandmother… just saying.” What kind of doctor cuts their patient off from a phone or Internet for over a week? Who prevents their own mother from contacting the kids she’s supposed to be caring for? Maybe I’m wrong, maybe there’s more going on behind the scenes than we know, but it looks like a money grab from here.

These photos are from 1-26-12. Credit: WENN.com and FameFlynet

Jackson matriarch Katherine granted a bizarre interview to a British tabloid in which she revealed personal information about her grandchildren and seemed to portray Michael’s three children as sad little waifs pining for their departed dad. Some outlets are reporting this as her first interview since Michael’s death last year, but it’s technically not. She was on the Geraldo Rivera show last August, and expressed her gratitude in October for a So You Think You Can Dance tribute show for Michael. Still, Katherine has said very little about her son up until now and it’s disappointing to hear her sounding like her evil husband, Joe. She’s shilling a new coffee table book that retails for $59.95 called Never Can Say Good Bye: The Katherine Jackson Story. Here’s what she said.

On how Michael’s children are coping
His daughter Paris, 12, has turned her bedroom into a shrine to her “Daddy”, where she is surrounded by his photographs.

And his boys Prince, 13, and eightyear-old Blanket bravely talk about wanting to make him proud – and then lapse into silent moments, when they are missing him. All three spend hours listening to their father’s hits.

Katherine says: “They don’t have any friends. They don’t go to school, they have private lessons at home – but that will change in September, when they are due to enrol at private college. But they have their cousins and aunts and uncles around them constantly, and that’s helped them immensely.

“To them, it’s normal, it’s the life they have known. They have a certain time to go to bed, then they get up and get dressed for lessons. They practise karate and swim, which they love.

On Paris’ love for her dad
“I wanted to hang pictures of flowers or ballerinas in Paris’s room, the sort of things I expected a girl would like,” Katherine says.

“But she went into a closet and she brought out seven or eight pictures of Michael, and she told me, ‘No, I want daddy hanging in my room’. So she goes to bed looking at him and wakes up looking at him. She said, ‘I always want to be able to see him’.

“Paris has that lovely way, just like him, and I see his talent in her. Whatever she does, she is very good at it. She’s a good artist, she plays the piano and she wants to be an actress.

On the molestation charges against Michael
“Many doubt that [Michael was a loving person], because of the child molestation accusation falsely laid on him, but in truth it was just greedy people after money. The first child, Jordan Chandler, whose father accused Michael, ended up saying he regretted not getting a chance to say sorry to Michael. Then the father committed suicide – I think his conscience was bothering him.”

Questions Michael’s death
“He was too young [to have died of natural causes]. I heard from people that he was taking prescription drugs but I never saw my son in any way drugged… he was always himself. If I could see him again, I would want to know one thing, ‘Who did this to you?’”

[From The Mirror, subheaders added]

What’s going on with Katherine and why is she suddenly selling a book and selling out her grandkids? TMZ reports that Joe, who recently blamed Katherine for Michael’s death and then tried to backtrack, is still manipulating her. They quote a source who says she put out this book to make money for her husband and that “Joe has always controlled her and always will.” That’s a shame because I thought that Joe had essentially screwed himself out of access to Michael’s estate, which Katherine controls, by calling her responsible for Michael’s death. If Joe is able to get Katherine to do his bidding, how long will it be before Michael’s kids are performing at Joe’s insistence? They’ll try to make it sound like it’s all the kids’ idea while Joe is cackling and collecting all the money.

Here are MJ’s kids Paris, Blanket, and Prince Michael I out after karate. They are shown with their cousins Jermajesty and Jaffar. They may not have “friends,” but they live with their cousins and seem to have enough other children around. They may not be the best influence, though, judging by the stun gun incident. Credit: Fame Pictures

TMZ has the breakdown of the expenses for both Katherine Jackson and Michael Jackson’s children, as detailed in recent estate documents. Katherine’s expenses amount to a whopping $26,804 per month, and the children’s expenses are $60,000 a month. A lot of that amount goes into salaries for people like personal assistants, nannies, and housekeepers. It’s still a hell of a lot of money. The Jackson estate is said to be worth $500 million and counting.

Up to now we didn’t know how much Katherine Jackson was getting by way of allowance while Michael Jackson’s estate gets probated. In legal docs just unveiled today, we now know the special administrators asked to pay her $26,804 per month.

As for the kids, the family allowance for them is $60,000 per month.

The docs also say “…the Estate assets consist of real and personal property exceeding $500 million and that the Estate is solvent.”

Katherine and Michael’s 3 kids will continue to get an allowance — which is subject to change — until the estate is probated. That could take between 1 and 2 years from now.

UPDATE: The docs also list Katherine and the kids’ expenses separately.

Now, the kids’ specific expenses are redacted — but it doesn’t matter, because the totals are still listed … and they’re HUGE:

– Salaries and payroll benefits: $315,580 per year
– Basic needs: $141,300 per year
– Entertainment and other: $159,120 per year
TOTAL: $720,000 per year

Katherine’s expenses per month:

– Assistant: $4,722
– Insurance for Asst: $475
– Housekeeper: $2,080
– Driver: $2,000
– Payroll and Taxes on gross salaries: $1,760
– Utilities: $3,260
– Clothing: $3,500
– Personal grooming: $1,000
– Entertainment: $1,500
– Car Expenses: $1,750
TOTAL (plus a few expenses we didn’t list): $26,804 per month

[From TMZ]

After reading how much it costs to care for the children every month I thought, “they could pretty much live at Disneyland and eat every meal there for that amount.” I forgot that I had just read that they were there, and that Disneyland staff set up a special private viewing for them of the 3D short with their dad, “Captain EO,” that stopped playing at Disneyland in 1998. The props were even set up from the original show. Jackson’s children, Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and Prince Michael III (Blanket), 7, had never seen the movie before and it must have been a real treat for them. $60,000 a month is a ton of money but I bet those poor kids would give anything just to have their dad back. Michael’s mom Katherine also seems genuinely distraught over her son’s death. Her husband, on the other hand, is another story.

Photos are from Jackson’s two funerals, on 9/3/09 and 7/7/09. Credit: WENN.com

I can’t decide how I feel about the Jackson family right now. No matter their past or their issues, they’ve lost a close family member and I feel they’re due some empathy and respect like anyone would be. On the other hand, it’s hard not to feel like in an attempt to be kind we’re often willfully turning a blind eye to all the ways they’re still trying to make money off of Michael’s memory. His funeral is a great example of this push and pull. The family made such a big deal about how they had to have nothing but absolute privacy. They managed to even get the airspace blocked off. Yet people ignored it, and now they’re beyond livid. However it turns out the Jacksons filmed the funeral themselves for a DVD they’re releasing. So is their real motivation privacy or money?

Randy Jackson is furious footage of Michael’s funeral at Forest Lawn is being broadcast all over the world, saying it was a private event and not meant for the public to see. Jackson just released a scathing statement condemning those who violated the no-fly zone over Forest Lawn last night — asking all media organizations to refrain from airing any more footage of the event.

Here’s Randy’s full statement:

“As a family, we are all aware of how Michael’s life, and his death, touched so many around the world. It is why we held a public memorial in my brother’s honor. And it is the reason we chose to release a small amount of footage leading up to yesterday’s ceremony at Forest Lawn. I was dismayed last night and again today at the coverage I saw on television of our ceremony for Michael. We had asked the media to respect the privacy and the sanctity of this event; to give us one moment of privacy to mourn as a family out of the public spotlight.

Unfortunately, despite a no-fly zone around Forest Lawn, many media organizations decided to ignore our wishes. They employed helicopters that not only surreptitiously recorded our private family ceremony, but also severely disrupted it. I therefore ask today that media organizations airing helicopter footage of the ceremony we held for my brother immediately pull that footage from their air and refrain from airing it in the future.”

[From TMZ]

But here’s that little tidbit about how the Jackson family is actually just trying to make money off his funeral themselves. They even filmed the “after party” (poor word to describe it, but that’s what they called it) held at a restaurant after Michael’s funeral.

There were were cameras shooting everything at the after-party for Michael Jackson’s burial — and we’re told the whole thing could end up on A&E.

Sources tell TMZ footage from inside the party — as well as the funeral itself — will be used for an A&E special, plus a DVD at a later date.

Don’t expect to see Joe or Katherine Jackson, Michael’s three children or Elizabeth Taylor in the footage though — we’re told none of them went to the restaurant after the burial.

A few other random tidbits about the affair: Rat Pack music played all night, “Casablanca” was projected onto the walls, the brothers talked about a reunion tour — and Janet seemed the most grief stricken of the group.

[From TMZ]

And as an aside, Rev. Al Sharpton Tweeted his way through Jackson’s funeral service. In case there wasn’t enough tacky behavior going on.

According to MSNBC, the reason Katherine Jackson almost didn’t go to the funeral was because she was so distraught over how public it had become. I find that confusing. They couldn’t expect complete and total privacy – they chose to hold the service outdoors. And Michael was interred – they certainly could have done it indoors if absolute privacy was necessary. And nothing about Michael’s life was really private. I understand why she would have wanted it to be totally private, but I’m confused about why she thought that would actually happen. Again, especially with the family filming things for their DVD.

Katherine Jackson apparently was the source of the delay of the start of Michael Jackson’s burial service on Thursday night. A source in direct contact with the family said Katherine didn’t begin getting ready at her Encino home until 6:45 p.m., just 15 minutes before the scheduled start.

“She actually had to be coerced into going in the end,” said the source. “It was like the reality of what this had turned into — an event and not anything remotely private — hit her all at once.”

Katherine and the rest of the Jacksons ultimately made it to the Glendale Forest Lawn cemetery, where guests such as Elizabeth Taylor had been waiting for nearly two hours in some cases.

Taylor’s appearance was a surprise to many — though she was one of Jackson’s closest confidantes, she was not at the public memorial in July. The source says Taylor was actually not invited to the July 7 private ceremony that took place just before the public event at the Staples Center, and this invite was extended at the last minute.

“She didn’t go to Staples because she didn’t want to be part of the spotlight. When she accepted a rather last minute invite to this memorial, she thought it was really going to be private. She had no idea that she’d be on camera so much. She definitely didn’t expect to wait outside for hours,” said the source.

[From MSNBC]

I never expected to be impressed with the Jackson family through this, and I’ve gone back and forth. True, they could certainly have been much tackier than they were. So I guess they’ve dialed down some of the drama. But filming Michael’s funeral, and then releasing a terse statement about how upset you are that other people did the same? You’re filming it to make money. Whatever reason other people are filming it, it can’t be more crass than that. I want to give them some leeway because of what they’re going through, but it seems like this was always and will always be about the almighty dollar.

Here’s Katherine and Joe Jackson at the funeral. We’re only using these photos because they were released by the family. Images thanks to WENN.com .