Features
Jackson Family’s Disunity Tour
A Los Angeles judge has ordered an investigation into the care of Michael Jackson’s children, at least three of MJ’s siblings have reportedly been banished from the family’s Calabasas, Calif., compound and Jermaine Jackson just wants it all to stop – at least in public.
The Jackson family feud apparently has not ceased with the return of matriarch Katherine to the estate after a two-week hiatus in Arizona that spurred accusations she’d been kidnapped and her removal as guardian of MJ’s children Prince, Paris and Prince Michael II – better known as Blanket.
While Katherine was away, Jackson siblings Janet, Randy and Jermaine became involved in a scuffle at the family’s Calabasas home requiring L.A. Sheriffs Department intervention and resulting in an ongoing battery investigation.
Katherine’s departure and ensuing kerfuffle prompted L.A. Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff to award temporary guardianship of the kids to T.J. Jackson, son of Tito Jackson, who will remain co-guardian now that Katherine is back in the fold.
Since the judge’s order, it’s emerged that T.J. has taken control of the gated Calabasas home and banished the battling Jacksons from the premises. And Judge Beckloff has ordered an investigator “to interview the children at their school on an unannounced basis” and deliver a written report directly to him.
A statement released July 30 does not specify which members of Jackson’s family are no longer allowed at the home and says the list is subject to change. The statement says an approved guest list was requested by an attorney for T.J. Jackson.
Meanwhile, the infighting and accusations continue, with Randy Jackson in particular continuing to question the validity of his superstar brother’s will. Randy, Janet, Jermaine and Rebbie Jackson signed on to a letter claiming the estate is being mismanaged by executors John Branca and John McClain and affecting Katherine’s health.
The singer’s older children – Prince, 15, and Paris, 14 – have suggested on Twitter that she was purposefully kept from them. And in court papers, their cousin and temporary guardian, T.J., said one of his aunts “arranged for a person to pretend that he was a doctor” and induce her to go to Arizona.
But it appears there may be a crack in the siblings’ unity. Jermaine Jackson called for a truce Aug. 1 in a statement.
“Mistakes have been made and irrational things have been said on both sides in a highly charged emotional environment,” Jermaine Jackson wrote. “It is time for us all to draw a line in the sand and move towards peace, co-operation, love and healing.”