Janet Jackson’s long planned book about her struggles with weight has been expanded into a “tell-all” about her family, obviously with special attention paid to brother Michael. It sounds like the book is mainly staying the course in terms of talking about her fluctuating weight and dramatic diets, along with talking about her self-esteem issues and most of the things you’d expect in a weight loss memoir. But she’s also going to talk about how Michael’s death has impacted her entire family – including his three children.

Janet Jackson is penning an explosive tell-all about her life and family, including her late brother Michael, an insider tells “In Touch.” The book, which will be published early in 2010, is set to coincide with the release of the star’s new album.

“She is going to talk about Michael’s death and how it’s affected her and his children and the rest of the family,” says the insider. “But a lot of it will also focus on her battle with self-esteem and weight.”

According to the insider, Janet, who is filming Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married Too,” has long suffered with her yo-yoing weight and self-imagine problems. “She’s a huge success,” says the friend. “But that’s not what she has always seen when she looks in the mirror, so the book will talk about how she has coped, and about her family relationships. She wants to help other young women out there.”

[From In Touch, Aug. 31, 2009, print ed.]

Janet’s book is one of the few celebrity-authored ones that I think I’d actually sit down and read the whole way through. She’s notoriously private, and I’d be interested to read what she has to say about Michael’s passing. And frankly her weight loss issues are pretty fascinating. It’s rare to have someone who’s famous gain and lose so much so quickly and so often. Whenever she’s heavier, Janet tends to stay out of the public eye, but every so often pictures will pop up in the Enquirer or Star of a much, much heavier Janet going to the grocery store or something. And then six months later she’s got washboard abs again! It’s mind boggling.

In other Jackson family news, they’re also taking issue with AEG’s planned Michael Jackson memorabilia tour – they want more than the 50% profits the administrators of the estate negotiated.

Michael Jackson’s younger brother Randy is on the witness list and could possibly testify Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court against a proposal by concert promoter AEG Live for a 3-city memorabilia tour that would begin this October, according to the Associated Press. The tour will coincidence with the release of a feature film using footage from Jackson’s final rehearsals.

Like Randy, the Bad singer’s mother, Katherine, also disapproves of the proposal, which was ironed out by John Branca and John McClain, who are serving, for now, as special administrators of Jackson’s estate. As it stands now, the deal would give half of the profits from the exhibition to the Jackson estate and the other half to AEG Live.

Lawyers for the Jackson family argued during a hearing last Monday that the 50-50 split of profits for the exhibition was too generous to AEG Live, but estate lawyers said they negotiated the best terms possible. Katherine wants the deal renegotiated. Other industry experts will also likely take the stand during Friday’s hearing. Upon completion of the proceeding, Judge Mitchell Beckloff is expected to make a ruling on Katherine’s objection to the agreement. AEG Live lawyer Kathy Jorrie has previously said any further delay in approval would cause the company to abandon the deal and the company would not renegotiate.

[From Radar]

I don’t know why, but my gut instinct is that the memorabilia tour won’t end up happening. It sounds like AEG is sick and tired of dealing with the Jacksons, and I doubt they’ll budge. So far AEG’s been claiming that they’ve only lost money on Michael Jackson since he died before he performed any concerts. They’re a business and they’re obviously trying to recoup some of their costs more than honor Michael’s memory. That said, it’s hard to argue the Jackson family is only focused on keeping his memory alive either. It seems like all the parties are focused solely on money, which will probably leave them all with nothing.

Here’s Janet Jackson landing in Nice Airport with brother Jermaine Jackson and his wife Halima Rashid on May 26th. Images thanks to BauerGriffinOnline.

Michael Jackson’s friend Mark Lester was on The Today Show this morning telling Matt Lauer that he once donated sperm to Michael and suspects he may be the biological father to Jackson’s daughter Paris, 11. Lester claimed he was motivated by the fact that details of his story were about to come out in the British press, but I find that confusing because the news came out over two weeks ago that Lester thought he could be Paris’ dad. Lester, the godfather of all of Jackson’s children, says he doesn’t want money and doesn’t want to change the arrangements the Jacksons have to care for the children. He claims he only wants to be in contact with them and maybe visit with them once as year, as he did with his family and Michael’s family throughout their long friendship:

As he sang falsetto in the Oscar-winning 1968 Best Picture musical Oliver!, “Where Is Love?” former child actor Mark Lester, in this case, has to face the tune of “Where Is the DNA Test?”

Lester, who lays claim to being the godfather of Michael Jackson’s three children as well as the sperm donor in the conception of Paris Jackson, 11 – further presented his case – while simultaneously backtracking – on Friday morning’s Today show.

On the question of whether or not he is Paris Jackson’s biological father, lester said he had “no idea, and even if I was, it would make absolutely no difference to the status quo of the family.”

Today a chiropractor and father of four daughters in London, Lester, 51, said that years ago in phone conversations with Jackson, the pop star sought Lester’s sperm because Michael “wanted kids but was anxious about sex.”

Jackson was “shy when it came to women,” said Lester, who added it was difficult for his friend to perform the sexual act.

Even so, pressed interviewer Matt Lauer, why did Michael Jackson need Mark Lester’s sperm?

“That I don’t know,” said Lester, whose original claims were made in a British tabloid report. He told Lauer that he stepped forward because “the story was going to break in any event,” and he wanted to present his own case.

While Lester’s ex-wife has subsequently stepped forward on her own to dispute her former spouse’s declarations – Lester countered by calling her “a difficult woman” – Michael’s mother, Katherine Jackson, has said Lester’s claims are not in the best interests of her grandchildren.

[From People]

So this guy went on television to say he thinks he might be Paris’ dad but he just wants to be able to see her? It just doesn’t make complete sense to me. Lester started laughing nervously when Lauer asked him if he wanted money, and I think that means the answer is “yes,” although he denied it. I’ll have to have my friend Eyes for Lies view this video and let me know if she thinks he’s telling the truth. It’s all very suspect to me, though, because his reasons for doing it don’t add up. It doesn’t seem true that he’s coming out with the news now because it’s about to break in the British press – we heard this ages ago, news-cycle wise. Why would claim this just to get in contact with the children? Can’t he send a nice letter and make an appeal that way? Maybe he tried that and it didn’t work. I’m not really buying it, though, and I think this guy is motivated by money somehow. I just don’t get an entirely sincere vibe from him. He doesn’t seem as sneaky as Dr. Arnie Klein, but he definitely seems to have an agenda.

Just when you thought that the Michael Jackson death saga couldn’t possibly get any weirder, news broke yesterday that the late pop star’s body remains at large – that is, un-buried. Joe Jackson reportedly informed TMZ that his son’s body, originally scheduled for interment on August 29, will now be laid to rest on August 31 instead. Apparently, the family needs more time to milk Michael’s passing and score TV appearances – er, “get things in order.”

Joe Jackson tells TMZ the burial has been pushed to August 31, because there are things the family needs to get in order before Michael is laid to rest.

Jackson was scheduled to be buried on August 29, what would have been his 51st birthday.

Story developing…

[From TMZ]

“There are things the family needs to get in order before Michael is laid to rest.” Like what? What exactly needs to be done after two months in order for him to be buried? Get some shovels, dig a hole, and boom, you’re done, right? I just do not understand what the problem is here. I can picture Joe Jackson going through the pockets of every single pair of pants Michael owned, hoping to find more money. And where the heck is Michael’s body now? Can you imagine being the person in charge of guarding it? Maybe I’ve seen “Weekend at Bernie’s” too many times or something, but I get the impression that something weird is going on. Just bury him already!

Photo credit: WENN.com

Katherine Jackson is thinking about suing Dr. Conrad Murray for the wrongful death of her son Michael Jackson. And from the sound of the information that’s being leaked about Murray, she better do it. This guy seems like one shady mofo. Nothing’s official yet, and all People’s sources will say is that the Jackson family is kinda sorta thinking about it and Murray’s name has kinda sorta been tossed around a bit.

While her husband Joseph says their son will be buried on what would have been his 51st birthday Aug. 29, Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine reportedly is mulling over filing a wrongful death suit in connection with the King of Pop’s June 25 fatal cardiac arrest, say reports.

Authorities investigating Jackson’s death have been focusing on his personal physician Dr. Conrad Murray, who is suspected of giving a powerful anesthetic to the singer on the day he died.

“The possibility of a wrongful death action has been floated,” Katherine Jackson’s lawyer Burt Levitch said, the Associated Press reports. “In that regard, no decision has been finalized … “Dr. Murray’s name has been floated [as a possible defendant in the potential lawsuit] because he is under investigation.”

[From People]

Everything associated with Murray has seemed suspicious and strange from the beginning. Remember how police impounded his car before they’d even questioned him? There were rumors that they were making sure he didn’t try to run. Clearly they already had enough information on the guy to be suspicious. Now it looks like Murray spent up to FIVE hours cleaning up “the situation” at Michael Jackson’s house before he even bothered to call 911.

An uncle of the two sisters who worked at Dr. Conrad Murray’s medical practice in Houston says the day Michael Jackson died, one of the women got a call from either Dr. Murray or someone who worked for him to go and pick up boxes at Dr. Murray’s storage facility … and she got the call more than 5 hours before Dr. Murray called 911.

Joseph Middleton tells TMZ the morning of June 25, one of his nieces, LaQuisha Middleton, had just arrived at Dr. Murray’s medical practice where she worked when she received a call to go to the storage facility. Joseph does not know who called LaQuisha, but based on his conversations with her, he says the call came either from Dr. Murray or someone who works for Dr. Murray. He also says she went with another woman who was not LaQuanda Price, LaQuisha’s sister.

The manager of the storage facility tells us two women, whom she believed at the time to be Laquisha and LaQuanda, arrived at 9:22 AM (Houston time) and picked up 3-5 boxes, as well as other items. Joseph says LaQuanda told him LaQuisha picked up a chair and boxes, although when we interviewed LaQuanda in Houston, she only remembers a box — she says a box containing dirty needles that LaQuisha inexplicably brought back to the office. In the same interview, LaQuisha only admitted picking up a chair.

Joseph told us LaQuisha got the call at around 9 AM Houston time. That is 7 AM Los Angeles time, more than 5 hours before Dr. Murray called 911. As we first reported, it took multiple bottles of Propofol to keep Michael Jackson asleep through a single night. Law enforcement sources tell us they believe — though cannot prove yet — that Propofol bottles may have been stored at one or more locations under the control of Dr. Murray and FedExed to L.A.

Law enforcement has a suspicion Dr. Murray walked out of the room for a period of time after administering the Propofol, possibly fell asleep, and when he returned Jackson had stopped breathing. Cops think Dr. Murray then may have spent hours “cleaning up” the situation before calling 911.

[From TMZ]

As hard to follow as that story is, the point is clearly made: this guy was up to something, and it was big. Obviously he always knew what he was doing was wrong, and the rental of the storage unit makes that clear. He was preparing to cover his tracks from the get-go. You know what else will keep you from getting into trouble for accidentally killing Michael Jackson? Not giving him the damn Propofol in the first place! It’ll save you both storage fees and attorneys fees. Marvelous concept.

Hopefully we’ll see an indictment against Dr. Murray soon – in no way should this man be allowed to practice medicine.

Update: Here’s an incredibly cheesy YouTube video that Dr. Conrad Murray just posted. There’s a lot of thanking people (he apparently thinks he’s won an award), talking about how he can’t return messages because he’s so scared, and some more thanking people. Oh, and God. He name drops God a few times too. Thanks to PopEater for the tip.

Header of Katherine Jackson arriving at Madeo Restaurant in West Hollywood, California to have dinner with Joe and Randy Jackson on August 1st.

The latest news in the saga of creepy Joe Jackson has the late Micheal’s dad receiving some portion of $5,000 for attending his son’s memorial in their hometown of Gary, Indiana. The money was apparently slated for Joe and a music group signed under his record label – the one he promoted multiple times in interviews following his son’s early death.

GARY — Joe Jackson and an Illinois-based musical group charged the city of Gary $5,000 to attend a memorial last month for Jackson’s son, the late pop star Michael Jackson, records released Thursday show.

It isn’t clear if Gary has paid the bill yet, but a claim form released by City Hall indicates the money will be split between Jackson, Marshall Thompson and the Chi-Lites, which list an address in Midlothian, Ill.

Overall, the preliminary account of the cost of a hometown memorial for Michael Jackson at the U.S. Steel Yard baseball stadium indicates the costs exceeded income by about $3,000.

City spokeswoman LaLosa Burns, though, said those figures could change as bills and donations continue to arrive. Mayor Rudy Clay, meanwhile, is confident Gary will profit from the event once all the donations are counted.

“It turned out beautiful and great and we’re not using taxpayers’ money,” Clay said, “so we should be given a blue ribbon for prudence.”

The claim form for Joe Jackson, Thompson and the Chi-Lites doesn’t indicate if the money was meant to pay travel expenses.

However, City Hall also released in-kind donation records that show $200 in meals, $3,000 in limousine services and $1,800 in hotel rooms were donated to the city. Gary officials have said previously that those donations were meant for the “celebrity guests” at the memorial.

[From Post-Tribute.com]

So not only did Joe charge $5,000 for the band to perform that signed under his record label, he also accepted a free hotel room and limo, services which were likely provided to all his friends on the city dime as well. I guess we would expect nothing less from this asshole. He probably thought that $5,000 was a complete bargain and that he was doing the city a favor by charging them such a nominal sum.

In related disturbing Michael Jackson new, TMZ reports that his body has yet to be buried, andis currently frozen at Forest Hills Memorial Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills, where it’s thought he’s going to be buried eventually. We haven’t really heard why the body has yet to be buried, but there are probably plenty of legal and logistical issues causing the delay. I bet the executors and family can’t agree on where to put the body, as was the case after James Brown’s death. It was at over two months before Brown was finally buried, and Michael is looking at a longer wait.

Here’s Joe Jackson looking smug at Michael’s hometown memorial in Gary, Indiana on 7/10/09. I believe he was rubbing his hands together in glee at some point. Credit: WENN.com

Grace Rwaramba is shown in Las Vegas with Michael Jackson’s children in January, 2007. Credit: Ben/Victor/Bauer-Griffin

Three weeks ago, we heard that Michael Jackson’s oldest sibling, his sister Rebbie, 59, would be helping her mother Katherine raise Michael’s three children. Katherine Jackson is 79 and many people wonder if she’s up to the task of caring for her grandchildren and how long she’ll be able to be responsible for them. It’s reassuring to hear that Rebbie, who has been married for over forty years and has three grown children, will be involved.

Michael’s longterm nanny, Grace Rwaramba, told a reporter from the Times of London that she was in touch with Katherine Jackson following Michael’s death, but I don’t remember reading that she was helping her with the children. The National Enquirer has a new story that claims that Grace was consulted about possibly helping with Michael’s children: Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and Blanket, 7, but that she wasn’t hired due to violent argument with Rebbie. Grace supposedly lit into Katherine about how she should be caring for the children, and Rebbie fired back, eventually smacking Grace. Then Grace defended herself and it’s said to have escalated into a full-on fist fight!

The former nanny for Michael Jackson’s three children got into a brawl recently with Jackson’s sister during a heated dispute over how the children are being raised, The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively.

In the ugly incident, longtime nanny Grace Rwaramba came to blows with Michael’s 59-year-old sister Rebbie after an argument between the two women exploded out of control, say sources.

What started as a confrontation over the parenting skills of the singer’s mother Katherine – who has been named permanent guardian of his children – quickly turned violent. After heated words were exchanged, Rebbie punched Grace, starting a nasty donnybrook [free-for-all], according to a Jackson family insider.

Sources told The ENQUIRER the fight erupted last month at Katherine’s home in Encino, Calif., where Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and 7-year-old Prince Michael II (nicknamed Blanket) have been living since their father’s June 25 death.

“Grace the nanny paid a visit to check on the children,” disclosed the family insider.

“She had been fired by Michael a few weeks before his death, but she still loves the kids and is concerned about their welfare.

“The family had even considered re-hiring Grace to help with the transition in the aftermath of Michael’s death – but that’s now out the window after what happened between her and Rebbie.

“Grace went on a tirade about how the kids should be cared for. Grace questioned Katherine on what time the kids were going to bed and everything else.

“Katherine was trying to be civil, and said, ‘I’m the grandmother, and it was me who Michael appointed to raise them should something happen to him.’

“But Grace kept on being critical, and Rebbie became incensed with the way she was speaking to her mother.

“Rebbie finally had enough and smacked Grace, and Grace fought back and the two women came to blows!

[From The National Enquirer]

If this is true, I only hope that none of the children had to see it. They loved Grace and lived with her for years, and it’s terrible that their aunt would smack her for expressing her opinion. Grace should have left instead of fighting back, but Rebbie never should have hit her, either. Out of all the Jackson children, it was thought that the oldest, Rebbie, was the most stable and had escaped the terrible influence of her abusive father. It looks like that isn’t the case and that she still sees violence as an acceptable way to handle an argument. The worst part is that she’s modeling that behavior for the children.

Despite rumors that Michael Jackson had quietly been laid to rest in an unmarked grave at Forest Lawn cemetery, the late King of Pop has not been buried yet. Michael’s creepy dad Joe spoke to E! News about the state of his son’s casket, which has yet to find a permanent home. It took over two months for James Brown to be buried due to the legal issues between his estate executors and family, and we’re looking at a similar time frame for Jackson, who passed almost seven weeks ago. (As I looked up that detail, I found this photo of Michael Jackson paying his respects to Brown when he was laid in state at the Apollo theater. The photo is disturbing, as Brown is in an open casket and Jackson is pale as a ghost as usual. It makes me uncomfortable to look at it.)

Joe, never one to miss an opportunity to meddle and cash in where possible, said he supports moving Jackson’s abandoned estate, Neverland, to Las Vegas. At first I thought this article was claiming Joe wanted Michael to be buried in Vegas, but it sounds like he doesn’t have control of that and is just suggesting that a Neverland-type venue be built there. Joe lives in Vegas and would probably hang around whatever shrine is built to Michael trying to promote his projects and pick up women with his crypt-keeper charm.

Just in case you weren’t certain, Michael Jackson is “not buried yet.”

Shooting down published reports (and backing up what we reported yesterday), father Joe Jackson tells E! News exclusively that his son has not already been laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

Joe declined to specify any burial plans or confirm whether his son’s body has been placed in Motown maven Berry Gordy’s crypt as some outlets have speculated.

The Jackson patriarch, who resides primarily in Las Vegas, also tells E! News he supports a proposal to move Neverland to Vegas.

“I think Vegas would be great,” says Joe. And while he doesn’t think the family would visit such a shrine to his son, Joe does believe “the fans would come.”
Asked about Michael’s ongoing death investigation, Joe says he prefers not to discuss it, only adding, “I still can’t believe he’s gone.”

[From E! Online]

I wonder if the reporter asked Joe specifically about a Vegas Neverland or if Joe came up with it on his own. My money is with good ‘old Joe. While Jermaine is planning that elaborate tribute concert in Vienna, Joe wants to take his rightful place as guardian to a chintzy Vegas shrine, his soulless eyes and lilac-colored eyebrows taking in all the money-making opportunities created by his son’s premature death.

Joe Jackson is shown at a hometown memorial held for Michael Jackson in Gary, Indiana on 7/10/09. Credit: WENN.com

Michael Jackson’s autopsy is officially completed and the results are in, however the LAPD has asked the L.A. Coroner’s office not to release them, and instead to place them under a security hold. Apparently they don’t want the results – or at least the release of the results – to interfere with their exhaustive and lengthy investigation. I say the “release” of the results because I assume the results are still known to the LAPD, however no articles actually specify one way or the other.

More than six weeks after Michael Jackson’s death, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office announced on Monday that it had completed an autopsy on the singer that details his cause of death. Those results, however, are being withheld indefinitely to allow police to complete their investigation, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“The investigation was thorough and comprehensive,” a coroner’s official explained in a news release. But in order to avoid interfering with the ongoing criminal probe by the Los Angeles Police Department into what might have killed the 50-year-old singer, the office will honor the LAPD’s request to put the results on a “security hold.”

Quoting an unnamed police source, TMZ reported that the LAPD doesn’t want the autopsy released, because it could hamper their ongoing investigation. In a statement released on Monday, the police department said its investigation “has included dozens of individual interviews and the service of search warrants locally and out of-state.”

[From MTV]

Obviously the coroner’s results play a big part in their investigation; the police just don’t want the information to be released to the media yet. Though with such a high profile case, it’s hard to imagine they’ll stay under wraps for long.

In related news, a Michael Jackson movie is coming out in the fall. It’ll feature video footage from his concert rehearsals and some interviews with his friends and associates. And parts of it will be in 3-D.

Hours after a judge in Los Angeles approved a deal for a movie using footage of Michael Jackson’s concert rehearsals, Sony announced that the film, “This Is It,” would be released on Oct. 30 in theaters around the world. Named after Mr. Jackson’s planned 50-date engagement in London, the film is to include scenes of him rehearsing at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, along with a career retrospective and interviews with friends and collaborators, and parts of it will be in 3-D, the announcement said. Sony paid $60 million to make the film, part of a deal involving the studio, the Jackson estate and AEG Live, the concert promoter that shot the rehearsals.

[From the New York Times]

Michael was obviously taking his rehearsals a lot more seriously than most of us realized. Due to his anxiety over the last several years he hasn’t performed – or even been seen much in public. A lot of people – myself included – speculated the concerts would never really happen. But he was working strenuously on her performances, and the little clips we’ve seen make it look like it would have been a great show. It’s nice we’ll still be able to get some idea of how the concert would have come together.

Jermaine Jackson is working on a concert tribute to Michael, which is supposed to take place in Vienna. It sounds like it’ll basically be the same thing as his funeral, just on another concert.

Better start booking your ticket to Vienna if you want to be a part of a high-profile tribute to Michael Jackson, planned for the end of September at the city’s Schoenbrunn Palace. Jermaine Jackson is inviting artists to perform in front of what organizers expect to be a huge crowd — around 85,000 fans. “The concept of The Tribute is that some of the world’s leading artists will perform Michael Jackson’s greatest hits live on stage in an imperial setting, befitting the King of Pop,” producers World Awards Media said on its website.

“I have invited many of the most acclaimed talents of our time,” Jermaine Jackson said on the website promoting the concert, “and many have already confirmed to perform in honor of my beloved brother, adding that he wants this to be the first of many charity concerts in his brother’s name.

“I want to make people aware of the humanitarian side of Michael,” he said. “I want to show them how his true emphasis wasn’t music, or performing; it was improving the world. Understand this, and you begin to understand the essence of who my brother was.”

[From OK!]

Honestly I think this sounds sort of unnecessary, and there is the potential for some serious oversaturation here. There’s a fine line between honoring Michael’s memory and cheesing it out. Yeah, he was larger than life and all that, but a film of his rehearsals coupled with possibly multiple concerts honoring him could make the average person pretty tired of him. And that taints his legacy more than honors it. Obviously hardcore fans will love it, but everyone else is going to think the Jackson family is just trying to stretch out Michael’s estate as long as possible.

In slightly more peaceful news, the King of Pop has a final resting place. According to Glamour UK (a slightly questionable source, so grain of salt and all that), Michael’s been placed in an unmarked grave at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood.

Over the weekend, News of the World published a supposed interview with Michael Jackson’s friend, former Oliver! child star Mark Lester. Lester admitted to donating sperm to Jackson in 1996 and supposedly said that he suspects that Paris Jackson, 11, is his biological daughter. News of the World is not known for their accuracy and was caught fabricating an interview with Paris’ mother, Debbie Rowe, shortly after Michael’s death. The claims seemed somewhat possible, though, as Lester is the godfather to all of Michael’s children and Paris and Prince bear a resemblance to him.

Hello! Magazine featured a long interview with Lester in early July, and there were plenty of pictures of Lester and his family with Jackson, including on Christmas. Lester said that Jackson regularly showered gifts his family over their 25 year friendship. Lester was close with Michael’s children, and mentioned speaking to Paris shortly after her father’s death. Lester is 51 and has four children with his first wife: Lucy, 17, Harriet, 15, Olivia, 14, and Felix, 10

According to sources quoted in People Magazine, Lester did give an interview to News of The World in which he admitted donating sperm to Michael, but he didn’t say that he thinks Paris is his daughter. People’s source says that Lester’s words were twisted around to make it a more compelling story:

Longtime Michael Jackson friend Mark Lester is not the father of Jackson’s daughter, nor is he claiming paternity, despite a tabloid report indicating Lester says he’s Paris Jackson’s biological dad, sources tell PEOPLE.

Although Lester could not immediately be reached for comment, sources very close to the Jackson family say that Lester has donated sperm for Jackson and is a longtime friend, but he has never claimed to be the father of Paris Jackson, 11.

“They twisted his words around. He’s not claiming to be the father of Paris Jackson,” says one close family source.

Jackson family attorney Londell McMillan adds that the story is just another unproven and meaningless claim, and the probate court has no reason to go against its finding that the late King of Pop is father to all three of his kids.

“These are just merely claims with no legal standing whatsoever,” McMillan tells PEOPLE.

Sources say Lester, 51, best known for starring in the Oscar-winning classic Oliver!, and Jackson are longtime friends, and Lester did donate sperm for Michael – although one source says the timing doesn’t line up for that sperm to have been used to conceive Paris.

“He has known Michael for many years and his children play with Michael’s children,” says longtime Jackson family associate and past lawyer Brian Oxman. But in all the years he has known Lester, Oxman says Lester never indicated he was Paris’s father.

Jackson made Lester godfather to all three of his kids in Oct. 2003 at a small, private ceremony where all three Jackson children were baptized Catholic with Debbie Rowe’s permission, says longtime Jackson associate Marc Schaffel, who claims to have been among the handful of people present.

Schaffel added that Debbie Rowe has always maintained that Michael is Paris’s father.

[From People.com]

Did Lester really say that he thinks Paris is his daughter? He seems to be admitting that he said he donated sperm to Jackson, but claiming he didn’t speculate about the paternity of Paris. Michael’s dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein is also rumored to be the father of Jackson’s children. Klein was Debbie Rowe’s employer and recently sent an attorney to court during custody hearings to express his concern for the “education, health care and welfare” of Paris and Prince Michael. Klein admitted donating sperm at one point, but said it wasn’t specifically for Michael. It sounds to me like Michael had two of his close friends donate sperm and then never told them if it was used to conceive any of his children.

At least one report claims Jackson used an anonymous donor for his children’s conception, a dentist from Pennsylvania. Those kids know who their dad was, but is their biological dad going to step out of the woodwork and try to have some part in raising them? Klein told Larry King, “If I was the parent, I would spend every moment of the day with the children.” Lester seems curious but unwilling to stake a paternity claim at this point. Hopefully whatever happens it won’t disrupt those poor kids’ lives. They’ve already gone through so much.

Mark Lester is shown below on 5/5/06. Credit: WENN.com

I really can’t think of anything I’d consider too strange to be legitimate when it comes to Michael Jackson. In fact since his passing we’ve gotten a lot of explanations for some of his bizarre behavior – but many of the people who surrounded him are still giant question marks. One of the biggest is Dr. Arnold Klein. It’s been rumored off and on that he’s the biological father of Michael’s oldest two children, Prince Michael and Paris. In fact there have been so many rumors about the children’s genetic parentage that I don’t think the general public has any clue who’s related to the kids and how. Arnold issued a non-denial denial a while ago, so he still might be the kids’ father. That’s one of those sentences that’s not a question but I feel I should end it with a question mark, because the whole thing is so strange.

To further add to Klein’s confusing relationship to Prince and Paris, he’s become super involved in their custody case for a guy that was just their dad’s dermatologist.

Why does Michael Jackson’s dermatologist want a say in how the King of Pop’s kids are raised? Acting on behalf of Dr. Arnold Klein, attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan made a surprise appearance in court today to express his client’s concern for the “education, health care and welfare” of Jackson’s two eldest children, Prince Michael and Paris.

Not that Klein, who still has never flat-out denied that he is the biological father of those kids, thinks that their grandmother Katherine Jackson shouldn’t be taking care of them. Klein is merely “acting on promises he made to Michael with respect to ensuring the long-term health and stability of the children and their ability to enjoy as normal of a life out of the spotlight as could be reasonably possible,” Kaplan and cocounsel Bradley P. Boyer said in a statement Monday night.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff, who earlier today awarded Katherine Jackson custody of her three grandchildren and agreed to visitation rights for Paris and Prince’s biological mother (and Klein’s former assistant), Debbie Rowe, said that Klein had no standing to challenge his decision at this time.

But, the judge said, Klein can file court papers pertaining to his guardianship concerns, and his legal camp says they plan to do just that on Sept. 1. “Dr. Klein has always had a special relationship with Paris Katherine and Prince Michael, loves and cares deeply for these children and is looking out for their best interest,” Boyer and Kaplan said. “Dr. Klein has been involved with the children in sharing holidays and other special events and wishes to have the ability to continue his involvement as a very close friend of their father and offers his guidance and protection forever.”

So Kaplan and Boyer have deftly managed to explain without really telling us anything. How legal of them.

[From E! News]

It does seem like Jackson and Klein had a non-traditional doctor/patient relationship. We don’t know enough to say if it was unethical. Hypothetically, if Klein did donate the sperm that was used to inseminate Debbie Rowe, would that be a violation of medical ethics? It certainly seems like it would mean crossing several lines in the distance a doctor should keep. Yet it also seems like Klein had true compassion for Jackson – when he was describing the immense pain Michael endured due to his scalp burn, he did so in very empathic terms. He also spoke about Paris and Prince in glowing terms, and told Larry King, “If I was the parent, I would spend every moment of the day with the children.”

It seems like they had a friendship beyond their professional relationship. Does that mean Klein is the father of Paris and Prince? Not necessarily, though nothing has completely ruled it out. He could also just be a very close family friend. Obviously Klein’s lawyers statements certainly raise an eyebrow… and frankly when it comes to who conceived Jackson’s kids, I’ve run out of eyebrows to raise. Perhaps Klein himself isn’t sure if he’s their dad, and is saying so many ambivalent things while he tries to find out.