Friday, June 26, 2009

Michael Jackson's kids

In all the hooplah about Michael Jackson's death, no one I saw on TV was answering the question I had: what's going to happen to his three kids? They were born by a surrogate mother who renounced all parental rights, from what I remember, so it's not like they're going to live with Mom now. I finally just saw this article, "Attorney: Michael Jackson's Kids 'Are Doing Fine'" (http://omg.yahoo.com/news/family-attorney-michael-jacksons-kids-are-doing-fine/24378?nc), which says that his three kids, Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II (a.k.a. Blanket), 7, are fine (which is a weird thing to say -- how can they be "fine" when their father just died suddenly?). They're in the care of a nanny, and will be raised by Michael Jackson's mom.

I still wonder if he truly is the kids' biological father. I mean, whatever skin disease he might have had, he was born a black man, but all of his kids look white, not biracial in the least. Which of course can happen, but with all three kids?

I remember when the "Thriller" video was all the rage when I was in middle school. My friends and I loved it so much, we would call each other whenever it aired ("Quick, turn on MTV! 'Thriller' is on!").

5 comments:

  1. He's actually not the kids' biological father, I was surprised to learn. Apparently to reporters who have followed MJ, this is not news, and in fact they know who the sperm donor is (which adds another level of confusion as it pertains to who gets custody).

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  2. VERY interesting, Shawn! Where did you read this? I am not very surprised if it's true, because his kids look so, well, white. but I wonder how it was discovered. You're right -- it adds a whole new level to the potential custody battle. I saw something on TV today that now Debbie Rowe, the mother of the older two kids, might end up with custody. As the only surviving biological parent, the odds are legally in her favor.

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  3. I heard that in California, after two years, paternity is presumed. In other words, once the child hits age two, whoever is listed on the birth certificate or has had custody of the kids is presumed to be the father, as long as there's no challenge to it in that two year period. At least, that's what some lawyers and a retired family court judge from CA said the other night.

    Plus, a judge will look unfavorably upon Rowe having twice left the kids in exchange for money.

    This is all really confusing, from a legal standpoint, but I think MJ's parents are going to end up with full custody.

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  4. Hi, Jeff! That makes sense -- I mean, at this point it doesn't really matter who the biological father is, since Michael Jackson is the father who raised them. Unless MJ's dermatologist is actually their father (a theory I heard on Inside Edition the other night), and HE wants custody. But he hasn't done anything to try to establish paternity before. And you're right, a judge wouldn't look favorably upon Rowe basically 'selling' the kids to MJ for $8.5 million dollars -- she has had no relationship with them whatsoever. Really weird. Plus she's not the mother of Blanket, the youngest kid, so she has no claim to him, and a judge would be loathe to separate three siblings who have grown up together.

    I think you're right that MJ's parents will end up with full custody.

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  5. My friends and I did that too. Called each other when Thriller was on. Of course I had to sneak and watch it because my parents hated MTV.

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