Reports Question Paternity of Michael Jackson’s Children

Photo: Lambert-Pool/Getty(Rowe), LANG/AFP/Getty(Jackson)

As authorities begin to weed through the custody issues related to Michael Jackson’s three children, a number of reports are emerging that question the paternity of Prince Michael Jr., 12; Paris Michael Katherine, 11; and Prince Michael II, 7. Our colleagues at Us Weekly are reporting that Los Angeles dermatologist Arnold Klein — Michael’s former doctor and boss of Jackson’s onetime wife, Debbie Rowe — is the biological father of elder children Prince Michael Jr. and Paris. “He and Debbie signed an agreement saying they would never reveal the truth,” an insider tells the magazine. “I’m doing a favor for a good friend,” Rowe reportedly told a friend when she was pregnant with one of the children. She gave up custody of the two children after she and Jackson divorced in 1999; when Jackson was facing child-molestation charges in 2003 she briefly regained custody, but gave it up again in 2006. An unnamed surrogate gave birth to Prince Michael II.

All three children are currently in the care of Jackson’s 79-year-old mother, Katherine, per a court order for temporary custody granted yesterday. The court will examine the children’s permanent placement at a July 6th hearing. Rowe’s attorney Eric George tells the Los Angeles Times his client will decide in the next several days whether to petition for custody or visitation rights.

TMZ also reports that Michael Jackson was not the biological father of any of his three children — and that the superstar did not legally adopt them because there was no presumed third party who would try to take custody of them. As Rolling Stone previously reported, there is no mother named on youngest son Prince Michael II’s birth certificate, though Jackson is listed as the father. Rowe is named as the mother of Prince Michael and Paris, the AP reports.