LOS ANGELES — The Michael Jackson saga has taken another bizarre twist with claims that the music icon is not the biological father of his three children.
On Tuesday, TMZ claimed that all of Jackson’s children — Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II, 7 — “were conceived in vitro — outside the womb.” Multiple sources told the celebrity gossip site that an outside sperm donor was utilized for all three children.
In the case of the two elder kids, the eggs of Jackson’s ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, were reportedly never used as she was simply paid a hefty sum to be a surrogate. According to Us Weekly, the biological father of the two children is Jackson’s dermatologist (and Rowe’s former boss), Arnold Klein.
“He is the dad,” an insider told the mag. “He and Debbie signed an agreement saying they would never reveal the truth.”
Rowe’s attorney, Marta Almli, fired back at the claims shortly after they surfaced.
“We refuse to be drawn into addressing the various rumors and speculation swirling in the media,” said Almli in a statement. “The vast majority of what is out there is untrue. Particular hurtful and insidious is the most recent rumor — which is entirely false — concerning the maternity of the children. Ms. Rowe is the biological mother of the two oldest children.”
The surrogate who delivered Jackson’s youngest child, known as Blanket, reportedly never knew who the eventual father would be. TMZ claims that an attorney for Jackson picked up the baby three days after the child was born at Grossmont Hospital in San Diego County.
Jackson died last Thursday at the age of 50 from an apparent cardiac arrest.
On Monday, the King of Pop’s mother, Katherine Jackson, was granted temporary legal guardianship of her son’s three children.
