Here are some photos of Macaulay Culkin smoking it up in London on 4/10. The guy looks pretty rough, and unfortunately, that’s nothing new where he is concerned. Macaulay started looking really skinny and wasted in early 2012. Last fall, the Enquirer printed a story about how Macaulay was a heroin and oxycontin addict, which Macaulay of course denied, and then the Enquirer named its source. BAM.

Now the Enquirer has struck out again at Macaulay and is going light on the drug talk in lieu of claiming that the former child star is nursing a very severe, 60-ciggies-per-day smoking habit. That’s about three packs, right? Gross:

After a desperate battle to get off drugs, Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin is now destroying himself with cigarettes, say insiders. The troubled 32-year-old actor is smoking an astonishing 60 cigarettes a day and putting his life at risk of deadly lung cancer! “Mac has swapped out one deadly habit for another,” declared a concerned pal. “It’s a nightmare!”

Las August, the Enquirer revealed that the former child star was a heroin addict who also abused painkillers. Now, he’s said to be off heroin and trying to clean up his act, but he’s tragically relying on another life-threatening crutch. “He’s put his nicotine addiction into overdrive,” revealed another friend. “Almost every time I see him, he has a cigarette danging from his lips and is puffing furiously.”

If Macaulay, who favors Marlboro cigarettes, doesn’t change his ways, he faces a bleak future, warn medical experts. Dr. Jerome Spunberg, a Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., radiation oncologist, who has not treated Macaulay, told the Enquirer he has “30 times the risk” of dying form lung cancer than a nonsmoker.

And Dr. Herman Kattlove, former spokesman of the Amercan Cancer Societ, who does not treat the actor, added that Culkin’s lung cancer risk will “eventually exceed 100 times that of a nonsmoker” if he keeps puffing away at his current three-pack-a-day rate.

To make matters worse, Culkin is also downing cognac, beer and energy drinks, divulge insiders. Palys believe that the actor’s bad habits are spurred on by problems, including his recent split with an ex-stripper girlfriend. As the Enquirer has reported, he also had a major run-in with a photographer outside a nightclub in Brighton, England, and suffered an embarrassing snub from his former girlfriend, Black Swan beauty Mila Kunis.

“All of this has Mac very stressed out, and that causes him to smoke more,” noted the friend. “He’s coughing a lot, his teeth are yellowing, and friends and family are worried he’s killing himself.”

[From Enquirer, print edition, May 27, 2013]

Don’t you love how the Enquirer has sniffed out some “experts” to provide details of the commonly understood risks involved with chain smoking? I believe this story though because Macaulay is seldom photographed without his beloved cigarettes, and I certainly don’t buy that Macaulay has traded one addiction for another. That is, I don’t see any conceivable way to argue that the dude is off drugs. If there was to be any hope at all of this guy staying clean, the fact that he just became roomies with Pete Doherty would ruin everything. Supposedly, these two are “bonded over their love of poetry and art,” but they’re also bonding over their mutual love of the tourniquet.

Here’s how good old wastrel Pete looked last August at the Parisian premiere of his dumb movie, Confessions D’un Enfant Du Siecle. He looks pretty sweaty as always, but this is actually one of his cleaner moments, dirtwise.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN

The National Enquirer’s cover story last week claimed that former child star Macaulay Culkin, 31, is a drug addict who is addicted to heroin and Oxycontin, and regularly takes a cocktail of dangerous prescription drugs. Macaulay’s rep denied the story and tried to appeal to common decency to get other outlets not to repeat it. His rep wrote: “We beseech the responsible media to consider the source and its reputation and to please not perpetuate this destructive and insulting story by pursuing it any further.”

In response to Macaulay’s denial, The Enquirer has named their source and challenged Macaulay to a drug test to disprove their claims. Even if he’s telling the truth and isn’t addicted to anything, you know he’s not going to take them up on it. Here’s the Enquirer’s report where they double down on the story:

The NATIONAL ENQUIRER hopes the cover story on its latest issue, “Home Alone’ star Macaulay Culkin Addicted To Heroin – Only 6 Months To Live!” will act as a dramatic and much-needed wake-up call to the 31-year-old actor.

Our advice to Macaulay is to seek professional help to avoid the same tragic fate of other beloved celebrities, including Whitney Houston who died earlier this year.

We believe that the former child star should be doing everything he can to get the treatment he so desperately needs – and which could have saved the life of his friend Elijah Rosello.

Her family confirmed to The ENQUIRER that she did drugs with Macaulay before her drug-related death in March.

Should Macaulay’s representatives continue to deny The ENQUIRER’s accurate and detailed report, we are ready to offer him the opportunity to take a blood test administered by an independent medical lab.

It is a fact that as The ENQUIRER tracked Whitney Houston’s descent into her drug hell, she refused to admit she had a problem – and Whitney was represented by some of those people now denying Macaulay’s potentially deadly problems.

The ENQUIRER editors would hate to see Macaulay end up like Whitney.

[From The National Enquirer]

It’s true that The Enquirer was running stories about Whitney being back on drugs before she died. Then when she died they put a photo of her in repose in her casket on the cover. So it’s not like they were motivated out of concern for her, you know?

The “Six Months To Live” headline is one the Enquirer uses a lot to move copies. They take celebrities, have a quack doctor look at photos of them and speculate on their general health, and then proclaim that they have X amount of months or years to live. In a couple of cases they’ve been right (I looked over past issues and they did predict Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Edwards’ demise) but most of the time it’s just a dubious effort to entice people to buy the tabloid. What I’m saying is that I hope The Enquirer is wrong. I hope that Macaulay has way more than six months to live and that he’s not addicted to anything except Red Bull. (A can of which he’s been seen with virtually every time he’s been photographed this year.) Some of you have floated the theory that he’s sick with an undisclosed illness and that may be why he looks so gaunt. I hope that’s not true either, but you never know.

Macaulay reportedly attended Natalie Portman’s wedding over the weekend. He’s said to be old friends with her. That’s good news.

I found this video of Macaulay at NY Comicon in October, 2011 as part of the Robot Chicken panel. (He voices a character on the animated show.) Macaulay licks Seth Green’s face in response to a member of the audience asking Seth for a “sexy pose with Macaulay.” Macaulay does not seem sober at all. Maybe he’s just really high.

Macaulay in February, 2012. Credit: FameFlynet

Macaulay in a photo dated 2-12-12

The last time we saw photos of Macaulay Culkin, looking incredibly thin and strung out in February, his rep issued an old-timey statement about it wasn’t true that Macaulay was unhealthy and how we shouldn’t gossip about him or something. At the time, his rep said “Macaulay Culkin is in perfectly good health. For Entertainment Tonight—or any other media outlet —to speculate otherwise is reckless, irresponsible and destructive. We implore them to discontinue the rumor.” That’s straight out of the 50s, right? Well Macaulay’s rep has issued another statement in response to The Enquirer’s sad story that his client is addicted to heroin, Oxycontin, and a cocktail of other dangerous prescription drugs. He says it’s not true, basically, but he uses such an old fashioned approach that it’s kind of funny:

A rep for Macaulay tells TMZ, the reports claiming Culkin is addicted to heroin and assorted hallucinogenics is “not only categorically without merit, but it is also impossibly and ridiculously fictitious.”

The rep adds, “We beseech the responsible media to consider the source and its reputation and to please not perpetuate this destructive and insulting story by pursuing it any further.”

[From TMZ]

How old is that guy issuing the statement? There’s hardly any “responsible media” anymore, and you can’t just try and appeal to people’s sense of decency when it comes to repeating gossip. Plus, The Enquirer may have a bad reputation but they broke the John Edwards story and they’ve had a lot of scoops over the years.

Let’s assume this is true, that Macaulay isn’t addicted to drugs and that he’s just very thin. Every time we’ve seen him this year he’s been photographed with a can of Red Bull. There are even photos of him from last week with a Red Bull. (We don’t have access to those photos, you can see them on this link, thanks to Sanna for pointing them out.) Being hopped up on caffeine constantly doesn’t make your eyes look glassed over and make you lose weight until your clothes are hanging off of you. Plus I’ve heard that Red Bull is an addict’s drink of choice, remember Demi Moore and her constant Red Bull before her breakdown? She was said to be chasing Adderall with Red Bull, and they’re both stimulants, which would explain how thin she got. Macaulay doesn’t look like a healthy 31 year-old guy with a simple Red Bull habit.

Speaking of Demi, a few of you have mentioned it’s interesting that Demi’s ex Ashton is now dating Macaulay’s ex, Mila Kunis, and that Ashton and Mila may have bonded over their shared pasts with addicts as partners. It’s possible, I just doubt that it brought them together or cemented their relationship more than nostalgia for That 70s Show or basic lust. Also, I don’t think it’s fair to assume that Mila must have used too since she was with Macaulay. We don’t assume that of Ashton. I’ve known couples where one partner uses and the other stays sober and tries to hold the relationship/family together. It’s common.

This is Macaulay on 7-3-10. He looked so much younger just 2 years ago.

Macaulay held this “food drive” in February as a way to mock the stories that he was unhealthy.

Photo credit: WENN and Fame

In February of this year, a paparazzo caught an exclusive photo of Macaulay Culkin looking emaciated and clutching a Red Bull. Those photos were expensive so we didn’t get them – you can see them here. Culkin eyes look glassed over, and he’s incredibly frail looking. A lot of people wondered if he was on drugs, which his rep of course denied. In more photos that came out that month (above), Culkin looked about the same – very thin and blitzed out of his mind.

The Daily Beast had a profile of Culkin last month, in which their journalist went to one of the monthly DJ parties the former child actor holds in Manhattan. His parties have child themes usually, like dinosaurs or prom, and the author described Culkin as friendly but detached. He also said that Culkin kept going in the back of the bar with a group of people who came back smelling like pot. So it sounded like Culkin was just toking up, and that he was still making appearances occasionally. I found that story reassuring because I was honestly worried about him after those photos came out.

All of that is preface to this sad story that Culkin is a hardcore drug addict who is abusing Oxycontin, heroin, and a cocktail of prescription drugs. Oh no.

Is former child star Macaulay Culkin hopelessly hooked on heroin?

The 31-year-old actor has allegedly been seen by several eyewitnesses using a deadly mix of potent pre­scription drugs and unless he gets help, they say his secret addiction will kill him!

According to a blockbuster new report in the National Enquirer, the Home Alone star regularly shoots up heroin and the powerful prescription painkiller oxycodone and nearly overdosed once.

Macaulay’s legal team strenuously denied the claims that the actor nearly overdosed and bought thousands of dollars of prescription drugs.

According to the Enquirer, Culkin spends up to $6,000 a month on other dangerous painkillers, and has turned his Manhattan apartment into his own private drug den where he gets high during hours alone or with his close circle of whacked-out pals.

The once golden boy’s drug use intensified about 18 months ago, say the insiders, when he fell into a downward spiral over his dead-end career and a shattered romance with Hollywood hottie Mila Kunis, who’s now dating Ashton Kutcher.

“Macaulay Culkin is hooked on drugs and it’s killing him!” said a source close to the star told the Enquirer.

“He’s been hooked for a year and a half, and his drug of choice is either heroin or oxycodone. Mac is surrounding himself with junkies and lowlifes. It’s a real tragedy.”

Another close friend claims to have witnessed Culkin’s increasing drug use and said his friends are afraid for his life.

“Macaulay Culkin is surely dying. He’s addicted to heroin, oxyco done, Percocet and Vicodin. I have witnessed his drug taking, which has escalated over the past year and a half to the point where he needs serious help.

“His closest friends fear that he’ll overdose or his heart will explode. If he doesn’t get help and enter rehab now, he could be dead in six months.”

The friend told the National Enquirer that they hoped he would get help before something tragic happens. “It should have been a wake-up call, but it didn’t seem to have any effect on him. Mac is still partying hard. I pray that he finds the courage and strength to clean up before it’s too late.”

[From Radar]

The Enquirer does run BS stories occasionally, but they wouldn’t run something like this without solid sources. I believe this, I just hope it isn’t as bad as their sources claim. I also hope that if this is true Culkin gets the help he needs soon. He had a tough childhood to say the least, his father was abusive and he was pushed to work at a young age. His sister Dakota died in 2008 after being hit by a car, and that probably affected him more than his breakup with Mila Kunis, although that’s pure speculation. Maybe now that the news is out he’ll start to realize that he needs help.

Here’s Macaulay in 2010:

Photo credit: FameFlynet

Macaulay on 2-12-12. Note the Red Bull, which he was also clutching in these other photos

Remember all that madness with Macauley Culkin cutting his controlling dad out of his life as a manager back in the mid 90s? Macauley’s mom and dad separated when he was 14 (they were never married) and there was a big custody battle with Macauley and his six siblings going to his mother. Then Macauley sued his parents for his earnings, moved out, ended up getting married at just 17 and divorced a couple years later. (There’s more about Macauley’s dad here, and Macauley’s past is covered in these articles.) Well it’s been nearly 15 years and Macauley Culkin’s dad hasn’t spoken to his son in all that time. Kit Culkin, 67, recently had a heart transplant, and he’s worried about his son, having seen these recent photos of Macauley looking emaciated and strung out. What’s more is that Kit is so estranged from his family that no one bothered to tell him when his daughter Dakota, then 29, died after being hit by a car in 2008. He had to read about it in the press like everyone else.

No one was more concerned about the actor’s dangerously emaciated appearance than his estranged dad, Christopher ‘Kit’ Culkin, who is secretly terrified that the 31 year-old is headed down a dark, dangerous path. According to a source, a “totally devastated” Kit – who recently survived a risky heart transplant operation – is so distraught, he can barely talk about just how worried he is for his son. “It’s a tragic state of affairs,” reveals the source. “It’s so painful for him.”

It’s doubly painful, explains the source, because “Kit has not seen Mac since 1997″ – when he was cut out of his son’s life after being fired as the then-child star’s manager, following a financial dispute. “He has endured so much heartache and betrayal over the years,” adds the source of Kit, 67, who has already buried two children: Macaulay’s half-sister, Jennifer Adamson, who died from a drug overdose in 2000 and his sister Dakota, who was struck and killed by a passing car in 2008.

“When Dakota died, nobody even told Kit – he had to read about it in the media…

“Kit doesn’t want to lose another child before they’ve had a chance to mend their relationship.”

[From In Touch, print edition, March 26, 2012]

This story is probably straight from Kit, because they have a new photo of him looking sad and sporting a mountain man beard. I was feeling sorry for this guy, but then I found this article detailing how he had the cops called on him in the mid 90s, after allegedly abusing Macauley. After that incident, Kit admitted to police to slapping then 16 year-old Macauley for not cleaning his room. Other stories have him not only ruining his son’s career, but being a drunken a**hole, basically. He messed up big time and he’s paying for it now. It’s sad when families are estranged like this, especially when people get sick and lose loved ones. Maybe they can reach some kind of truce at some point, but it sounds like there’s a lot of bad blood in the past.

Macauley looks really sick still and I hope he’s ok. He’s been carrying around a Red Bull in the two sets of recent photos I’ve seen of him. Demi Moore was drinking a lot of Red Bull when she was emaciated. She was abusing Adderall as well. Just saying.

Macauley on 5-18-10

Header photo credit: Diane Cohen/FameFlynet Pictures. Other photos credit Brian Flannery/FlynetPictures.com

Macauley out with his brother, Kieran, on 8-18-10. The photos we are referring to are on ETOnline

We haven’t heard about former child actor Macaulay Culkin, 31, in some time, but from the looks of these pictures (see them on ET online and E!) he’s in a bad way. I have to admit that I sometimes get him confused with the kid from Star Wars, Hayden Christensen, in that I falsely remember that he used to be engaged to Rachel Bilson. That’s not him, obviously, he used to be engaged to Mila Kunis and they split up in early 2011. (I also sometimes confuse Bilson and Kunis, which I know is unforgivable to some of you, but it all makes sense to me now.)

Anyway Culkin was seen holding a Red Bull and looking super emaciated. He’s Demi Moore levels of thin, and he’s clutching her drink of choice too. ET Online reports that he may be up for a role in a movie called Service Man, “an uplifting military action flick,” which makes you hope that his extreme weight loss is for a role. Culkin’s rep denies that he’s set to star in the film, although producers say they’ve spoken to his people about it. The rep also claims that his client is super healthy. Of course he is. Here are the reports, which I’ve pieced together from a couple different sources:

After pictures of a gaunt Macaulay Culkin emerged exclusively on ET this morning, speculation as to whether or not this extreme weight loss was for a new movie project, titled Service Man, began to crop up.

And while TVGuide.com reports his rep as saying, “Mr. Culkin is NOT starring in Service Man, don’t take for face value everything you read on IMDb,” Entertainment Tonight has spoken with Goliath Studios, the UK-based production company behind Service Man and they confirm correspondence with Culkin’s manager about his possible cooperation in the project.

Although the film is currently on hold while the script is being rewritten, if Culkin chooses to participate in the project, the uplifting military action-comedy-drama would be his first big-screen role since 2007′s Sex and Breakfast. -ETOnline

---

“Macaulay Culkin is in perfectly good health,” his rep tells E! News. “For Entertainment Tonight—or any other media outlet —to speculate otherwise is reckless, irresponsible and destructive. We implore them to discontinue the rumor.” – E! Online

[From ETOnline and E! Online]

What kind of old-timey denial is that “We implore them to discontinue the rumor“? It’s so formal. I do hope that Macauley is ok, and that he’s not subsisting on Red Bull and ADHD drugs like Demi. I also hope he’s not sick at all. The Red Bull seems to suggest this is a deliberate weight loss, but you can’t judge from one drink I guess.

I didn’t realize that Macauley hasn’t been in a movie since 2007. According to IMDB he was in a TV series in 2009 called Kings, which I never heard of and was on NBC. (Go figure.) He did voice work on “Robot Chicken” from 2005 – 2010. I also vaguely remember that he put out a book. That was Junior in 2007 and it received mixed reviews. It must be hard to recover from child stardom and extreme family dysfunction and regain some sense of self, but it’s not like Culkin is destitute. His net worth is estimated at $15 million dollars.

McCaulay at the Oscars in 2010. He has such a baby face!

Photo credit: Optic Photos PacificCoastNews.com and WENN.com

Last Thursday, I wrote about a seemingly random report from In Touch Weekly in which “sources” claimed that Mila Kunis and Macaulay Culkin had split up after six years together. When I happened to mention that while I liked them together as a couple, I genuinely thought Mila could do better… well, many of you got upset with me. So, I’m sorry about that. I apologize for suggesting that Mila, riding a career high that will likely see her getting an Oscar nomination, is in the midst of trading up. However, Page Six confirms the report than Mila and Mac did break up. They even got a confirmation from her rep:

Did Mila Kunis’ breakout role in “Black Swan” contribute to a breakup for the actress, who’s flirting with movie stardom? Kunis’ rep confirms that she and one-time child star Macaulay Culkin have gone their separate ways.

“The split was amicable, and they remain close friends,” her rep said. Kunis started dating Culkin seven years ago, when she starred as the snobby “Jackie” character in “That ’70s Show.”

A source said the couple split some time ago but has kept it low-key while Kunis promotes the movie.

[From Page Six]

To her credit, it doesn’t look like Mila had some jumpoff waiting in the wings, you know? It sounds like Mila and Mac just grew apart, and that they likely split up months ago and we’re just hearing about it now.

Your move, Natalie Portman.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Sad news, if it’s true. In Touch Weekly is reporting that Mila Kunis and Macaulay Culkin have called it quits after six years together. They were a really low-key couple, and they rarely walked red carpets together or anything like that, so I wonder if we’ll even hear a confirmation or a denial of this report either way. And even though it’s ITW, I still think this report could be true – Mila hasn’t mentioned Mac once during her Black Swan interviews, and they haven’t been spotted together (in candids, out and about) in a while. Could it be?

After six years together, Mila Kunis, 27, and former child star Macaulay Culkin have called it quits.

“They broke up a while ago but kept it quiet. They weren’t on the same page,” an insider tells In Touch. “Mac lives in New York, and she lives in LA, and since her career took off, it was too hard to keep the relationship going.”

The Black Swan star once gushed: “He’s an amazing guy, who is probably the most brilliant person I’ve ever met. He’s so, so smart and so aware and so kind.”

[From In Touch Weekly, print edition]

I hate to say it, but Mila could do so much better. It kind of reminds me of Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe – Chad knew Hilary when her biggest credit was 90210, and then suddenly she’s an Oscar winner. While I don’t think Mila’s transformation into an A-list film actress will be that dramatic, Mac is still giving me Chad Lowe vibes. Oh well… I hope they’re both doing well if they have split. Now who should Mila be with? The rumor was going around that Justin Timberlake was trying to get up on her, but that Mila put a stop to it pretty quickly. So… she’s got a good head on her shoulders. Hopefully, she’ll find a non-douche.

Mila Kunis is the cover girl for the December/January issue of Blackbook Magazine. At 26 years old, Mila has found herself on the precipice of movie stardom after being one of the best parts of the ensemble of That 70s Show, and stealing scenes away from Jason Segel in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Now she’s playing in the big leagues, working with Darren Aronofsky and Natalie Portman in Black Swan. Mila is promoting her supporting role in The Book of Eli, but all anyone wants to talk about is her angry, druggy sex with Natalie Portman in Black Swan, which is filming right now and won’t be out until next year. But Mila can’t or won’t talk about the movie, so what’s the point, really? I guess the pictures are the point. She does look pretty – but she kind of sounds like an a-hole in the interview (full Blackbook piece here):

On ballet training for Black Swan, her new Darren Aronofsky-directed ballet drama starring Natalie Portman and Winona Ryder: “I just skipped about 10 years of ballerina training and started as if I’m a professional. (laughs) Every day, I tore the ligaments in my calves and I would think, What am I doing to myself?”

On being secretive for Black Swan: “I just feel like such a douche because I can’t talk about it. It’s not even that big of a deal. It’s a f—ing movie. It’s not like I’m saving the world.”

On her rumored sex scene with Natalie Portman in Black Swan: “It’s two girls making out, and guys have a thing for that. And Nat is like every guy’s dream. She’s a nerd’s idea of heaven. The whole thing is silly, but I can see why people care.”

On being an actress: “I didn’t come to L.A. to become a famous actress. I lived in L.A. and I was an actress, and it was just like, Who am I? I loved what I did, but I didn’t like the judgment that came with it. It took me until I was 21 to realize that this is what I was going to do. I finally decided I’m not going to be embarrassed to write ‘actress’ on my medical forms.”

On the prospect of marrying her boyfriend Macaulay Culkin: “Not to say that I don’t believe in it, but it’s just not something that’s important to me. But I will have children. I’m too selfish to have them now, but when I do, I don’t feel like I need to be married. I need to have a person in my life who will care for me and my children—nothing else.”

[From Blackbook Magazine via Just Jared]

Here’s the thing – I think Mila is a really pretty little thing, and some of these photographs of her are gorgeous… but doesn’t she seem strange, and not in a good way? Granted, I only skimmed the full Blackbook interview, and she is self-effacing and nice, sometimes. But I think she’s gotten into that groove that a lot of young actors have where they think they’re always going to be getting work, and they’ll always have a steady paycheck, and so they get a bit of chip on their shoulder. I could be off-base, completely. Mila could totally be a nice girl, and I’m just reading the interview the wrong way. But she seems full of herself.

Blackbook Magazine cover and additional images courtesy of Just Jared.

In the latest bizarre news about the paternity of Michael Jackson’s children, The Sun is reporting that Macaulay Culkin, 29, is the biological father of Michael Jackson’s youngest son, Blanket, 7. We’ve heard two different friends of Jackson’s claim that they’re possibly the biological father of Jackson’s two older children, Paris and Prince Micheal II. Up until now the speculation about Blanket’s origins has focused on his mother, who some outlets claim is a Norwegian woman who once worked for Jackson named Pia Bhatti. Now The Sun claims that Blanket was conceived using donated sperm from Jackson’s friend, former child actor Culkin. Some of these quotes from The Sun suggest that the paper might be completely speculating in this story, but it’s also possible that they have a decent source. With Jackson, anything is possible really:

ACTOR Macaulay Culkin is the mystery dad of Michael Jackson’s son Blanket, it was claimed last night.
The Home Alone film star is said to have donated sperm to help Jacko create his seven-year-old offspring – real name Prince Michael II – with an unknown surrogate mum.

The two celebrities became firm friends after Culkin, now 29, shot to fame as a child in the 1990 box office smash.

He went on to star alongside Jackson in the video for his hit song Black or White in 1991, regularly visited the singer’s Neverland ranch, and took the witness stand to defend him at his 2005 child molestation trial.

One source said: “It is well known Jackson and Macaulay shared a unique bond.

“Now rumours are spreading like wildfire that Macaulay, who Jackson nicknamed Mack, is actually Blanket’s biological dad.”

Close pals say Jacko, who died aged 50 at his Los Angeles home in June, is not the natural dad of Blanket, his brother Michael, 12, or their 11-year-old sister Paris.

Fevered speculation gripped the US after repeated claims that a “well-known Hollywood actor” donated the sperm for Blanket.

Now sources close to Jackson say the Thriller star asked Culkin for the donation to help him complete his “perfect” family.

The source added: “This isn’t just chitter-chatter, even Culkin suspects he’s Blanket’s father.

“So many names have been mentioned as prospective dads, and this is probably the wackiest yet.

“But Jackson and Culkin were best friends. He was one of the few people Jackson really trusted and Mack never let him down.

“Really, Jackson idolised him – that’s why he asked Mack to donate sperm.

“Deep down, I think he always wished Mack was his son. Creating Blanket was the next best thing.”

Culkin – godfather to Jacko’s other two children – has told pals he will not comment in public out of loyalty to his late pal.

Helped by fertility experts and skin specialist Dr Arnie Klein, Jackson is said to have stockpiled the ingredients to genetically engineer three “perfect” kids.

Klein is said to have given sperm for the elder two, while actor Mark Lester has claimed HE is Paris’ dad.

[From The Sun]

If you wanted to have gorgeous kids you couldn’t do much better than to use Macauley Culkin’s genes. Blanket does have beautiful features, including full lips that could have been inherited from Culkin, but it’s hard to tell. I doubt we’ll ever know for sure who fathered any of Jackson’s children. Last week, the lawyer for Jackson’s former dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein issued a bizarre statement that claimed that “There was a possibility that the two older kids could be biologically linked” to him. He went on to say that Klein wouldn’t take a DNA test, though, because Michael Jackson was the children’s father and they needed to stay with their grandmother. It’s like he was saying the kids were probably his, but he didn’t want to know either way. Given that Culkin seems to value his privacy, I doubt he’ll be taking a DNA test or issuing a statement about this. Maybe he’ll chime in to say it’s completely false, though.

In related news, Michael Jackson’s death was ruled a homicide late last week when the cause of death was released. Jackson died of a combination of Lorazepam (Ativan) and Propofol. No one has yet been officially charged in his death, but that could change soon.

Update: Macauley’s rep has denied this report, calling it “too preposterous for us to even acknowledge.” Yeah, The Sun made it up.

Macaulay Culkin is shown in 2006 and in 1990′s Home Alone. Blanket is shown on 7/7/09 at his father’s funeral. Credit: WENN.com