Janet Should Get the Kids

While I try not to comment on pointless celebrity gossip and scandal, this time, I feel I can make a positive impact on several innocent lives, so I’m throwing in my own two cents.

While Grandmother Katherine Jackson and birthmother Deborah Rowe are trying to hash out their differences regarding the newly fatherless Jackson children: Prince, age 12; Paris, age 11; and Prince II (Blanket) age 7; I wonder if anyone has considered Michael’s younger sister, Janet Jackson, as an ideal legal guardian.

During the very public Michael Jackson memorial, Michael’s daughter, Paris, after breaking down in a torrent of emotional tears, turned not to Latoya, Katherine, or any of her uncles who tried to pull her to them, but instead went straight for Janet. It’s no wonder. Janet appears quite caring, loving, and nurturing. Despite never having children of her own – perhaps due to choice, her first two husbands’ choices, or medical difficulties – Janet seems to be a natural born mother. At the young age of 43, after a very successful music career, perhaps this is her time to settle down to raise her brother’s three very beautiful children. Her third husband, Jermaine Dupri, who she is rumored to have married in October 2007, and has dated since 2002, would offer the children a stable and loving, two-parent home.

What about the two oldest children’s birth mother, Deborah Rowe? I have no doubt that Rowe is indeed the natural mother of these two children. Paris is her spitting image. The natural father (who cannot be Michael because the children’s eyes would have to be brown) was a donor to a sperm bank and is long gone, not even slightly important. However, Rowe was not only their mother, but also Michael’s wife.

Rowe is currently earning her way as a horse and dog breeder in her home in Palmdale, CA. What better way for the kids to get to know her than to spend one afternoon a week horseback riding with their long lost mum? Janet Jackson herself once dreamed of becoming a race horse jockey and would probably also enjoy the outing. They could picnic when the weather’s nice, chat about going to school (which they have yet to do), their hobbies, and where they went on their last vacation.

Why Rowe was cut out of the children’s lives is as complicated as their marriage and she deserves an opportunity to reestablish a relationship with them. A Daily Mail article published in May 2009, just one month before Michael Jackson’s untimely death, suggests that it was not by Rowe’s choice, but that she believes that her husband, Michael, married her solely to bear children for him. She claims she first agreed to have a child for him because she wanted to help out a friend, and after she got pregnant, they got married. Although she says they never lived as husband and wife in the traditional sense, Michael turned out to be a very good parent.

After their second child, Paris, was born, Rowe was sadly unable to have more children, but Michael wanted more. Divorce would have been imminent and a financial settlement of some sort would have been necessary since the divorcee of a famous pop star would have extraordinary expenses in paying for security, rebuilding her life, buying a new place to live, and reestablishing the lucrative career she left behind. (The story of their divorce and Michael's failure to pay Rowe the agreed settlement is disclosed in a February 2008 interview with the Daily Mail.) I find it hard to believe that Deborah Rowe would have married Jackson and bore his children, just for the money, since such an arrangement would have been less legally complicated if she had simply hired out her services as a surrogate. However, if this was the case as some critics claim – that she only wanted the cash – then not offering her money with the child visitation arrangements, is the easiest way to test her character.

What about Grandmother Katherine Jackson? Other than the obvious – age – the only problem with Katherine is that she is still legally married to husband, Joseph: the father who Janet herself said asked her at the tender age of 8-years old that she stop calling him “dad” after entering the music business, but instead, call him, “Joseph.” Even Debbie Rowe herself has said that Jackson told her that his father bullied and beat him. Only Michael’s sister, Latoya Jackson, has been brave enough to reveal publicly more severe abuse suffered by their father, Joseph Jackson.

Although it would be wonderful for Grandmother Katherine to play a major role in the lives of Michael’s children, I would worry about Joseph getting his hands on them, either abusing them with extreme mental cruelty, exploiting them for fame and fortune, or worse…

Michael’s continued distance from his father, Joseph, and his overindulgent parenting method of his own children (a new toy everyday and no school) are indicative of the extreme mental cruelty he must have suffered as a child. Did his father lock him in the bathroom? Or did Michael escape into the bathroom when he was pushed too hard? I wonder. In his Neverland ranch, every bathroom has a backdoor, and those in his own bedroom escape up a flight of stairs to an attic playroom.

What about Michael’s money? Good question. The estate management should be a separate issue from the custody of the children. Ideally, the estate will be held in trust for his children to enjoy when they become of age. As to who should manage it, my thoughts turn back to Janet, once again, who has worked in the music industry, been extremely successful, knows her way around contracts, can work with managers and producers, can manage great wealth, and understands how much money should be received in royalties and song rights.

As for how Michael died? It was obvious that he had become dependent on Diprivan, also known as propofol, the hospital administered pre-surgery sedative and anesthesia drug. The drug is reported to give the subject a “very pleasant sleep,” complete with vivid erotic dreams. Diprivan must be administered by I.V. by an attendant, which would explain why Jackson employed Dr. Conrad Murray to sleep in the bedroom next to his, why the room was filled with oxygen tanks necessary for anesthesia, and why an I.V. drip was set up beside the bed where he was found unconscious. And, everyone knows you can’t go under on a full stomach, which explains why the autopsy showed that Michael Jackson had no food in his stomach. Dr. Murray probably should have checked Jackson’s blood sugar.

There’s an excellent article on Jackson's usage of Diprivan from July 1, 2009 on ABCnews.go.com

It’s extremely sad to see the life of a superstar pop icon end so prematurely. I’ll remember Michael Jackson in admiration of his talent, appreciation for creating so many incredibly brilliant songs, as well as for his charitable generosity which I had not been aware of until after his death.

I loved watching Michael Jackson perform in his Thriller videos. I sang along to ABC by The Jackson Five. I loved the powerful feminine message Janet Jackson relayed in her lyrics,“It’s Janet. But it’s Jackson if you’re nasty.”

However, the only Jackson family member album I own is Jermaine’s. Ironically, Jermaine Jackson's own music career may get a boost from his little brother’s death. Like a fallen California Redwood, the king of the forest, new life will sprout in a line along the fallen log.