By Dorothy Rowley
AFRO Staff Writer
Katherine Jackson, mother of Michael Jackson, will be given temporary custody over his children. (Courtesy Photo)
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(June 30, 2009) - After being granted temporary guardianship of her three young grandchildren four days after his death, the mother of the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson, is now poised to seize control of his estate – particularly after one of the children's mother said in published reports Sunday that she does not want to have anything to do with them.
Debbie Rowe, the mother of Prince Michael Jr., 12, Paris, 11, also reportedly claimed Jackson was not the biological father of the children. She said they were conceived through artificial insemination while she and the former teenage-heart throb-turned-mega superstar were married.
According to an article published this weekend in (the Internet newspaper) Huffington Post, Rowe also claimed she had no intentions of ever seeing her children again – let alone seeking custody.
Rowe reportedly said in the Huffington Post that after she gave birth to second child Paris, she couldn't have kids again. "The delivery was so hard. My insides were all torn up and I was barren. When he knew I couldn't have any more babies he didn't want anything to do with me."
Rowe (who lives on a farm surrounded by animals) said, "I was just the vessel. It wasn't Michael's sperm. Just like I stick the sperm up my horse, this is what they did to me. I was his thoroughbred."
She added that, “I was never cut out to be a mother – I was no good. I don't want these children in my life. My children are my animals now."
The latest round of reports surrounding the fate of Jackson’s children – including Prince Michael Jackson II, 7, – state that on Monday, Katherine Jackson filed in Los Angeles to become the administrator of her son’s estate – a move seemingly orchestrated to ensure the children are its beneficiaries.
In filing the 22-page petition, Mrs. Jackson, 79, indicated the value of her son’s estate as “unknown."
Joe Jackson was not listed in the filing and reports state it was presented in his wife’s name alone. Joe, 80, and Mrs. Jackson are reportedly maintaining separate homes – while she lives in the Encino compound, he lives in Las Vegas but spends time at the family home.
The document fails to state if a valid will had been left, but lists all three children as living at the Jackson family’s compound in Encino, Calif.
Mrs. Jackson stated the reason she was asking for guardianship was because the children “are currently residing with paternal grandmother," and that "they have a long established relationship with paternal grandmother and are comfortable in her care."
Mrs. Jackson's petition further claims the children "have no relationship with their biological mother.”
A hearing on the petition has been scheduled for August 3.
Jackson died June 25 at his home in Los Angeles. The 50-year-old music legend had been embarking on an already sold-out 50-concert venue at London's O2 Arena. It was slated to kick off early this summer.
Jackson had been married for about three years during in 1990s to Rowe. They divorced in 1999. At the time, having described Jackson as “a wonderful father,” Rowe gave him full custody of the children.
The mother of the third child is a surrogate and remains unknown.
Although earlier reports stated Rowe might try to resume her parental rights, as of Monday her whereabouts appeared unknown as Katherine Jackson filed for guardianship. But speculation is that she might try to get her children – which according to experts, is her legal right.
Jackson family attorney Londell McMillan said the family hasn't heard from Rowe about custody.
Read more about Michael Jackson's musical and cultural legacy at Remembering Michael Jackson.
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