Jackson’s kids want to live with sister Janet
By Ree Hines
msnbc.com contributor
updated 9:09 p.m. ET, Wed., July 15, 2009
Next week’s courtroom showdown, in which Michael Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, and ex-wife Debbie Rowe are expected to vie for temporary custody of two of the late pop star’s children, could come with an unexpected twist.
According to a new report, the kids in question, Prince Michael, 12, and Paris-Michael Katherine, 11, along with their 7-year-old brother Prince Michael II (aka Blanket), have made their own decision. They want their late father's sister, Janet Jackson, to raise them.
“Janet has completely bonded with those children in the last two weeks,” a family friend revealed to OK! magazine. “She has been their rock. It’s clear to everyone that they are looking to her for comfort and guidance.”
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Though Michael Jackson named his 79-year-old mother as the guardian of choice in a 2002 will, a source assured the magazine that Janet Jackson, 43, is prepared to step in if she’s the children’s choice.
“Janet is not only willing to raise those children, she is also the only relative who knows how to protect them,” the source explained. “Janet knows the value of a private life and knows how to keep her personal life out of the news. She is determined to do that for Michael’s children. She is saying that he would want no less for them, pointing out how far he went to shelter them.”
The custody hearing is scheduled to take place at Los Angeles Superior Court on July 20.