Friday, July 10, 2009

King Solomon Would Be Troubled


It seems that Debbie Rowe, the biological mother of Michael Jackson's two older children, is about to sue for custody of them and of course, the many millions that will go along with them for their care and feeding. She apparently has not seen them in about ten years, since Prince Michael was two and his sister, Paris, a year old. It is well-documented that she conceived them in vitro during her marriage to the King of Pop as a "personal favor" because he needed to be a father. She was paid millions of dollars plus a house in Beverly Hills and a car for her services. She has stated that she didn't want the kids, that "they don’t call me Mom because I don’t want them to. They’re Michael’s children. I had them because I wanted him to be a father.”

Under California law, if a child has two parents and one dies, the other automatically gets custody of the child. Therefore, Ms. Rowe will probably get them unless the Jackson family can prove that she would be detrimental to their wellbeing. The substitute guardian under their father's will is Diana Ross, who apparently doesn't even know the children. Debbie Rowe sounds like a turtle which lays its eggs in the sand and swims back to sea, not a good and loving mother by anyone's description, even her own. Yet Katherine Jackson, designated guardian under MJ's will, is 79 years old, and along with her comes Michael's father Joe, who abused him horribly during his entire childhood.

King Solomon is most famous as a judge of incomparable wisdom, which was sorely tested when two women came to his court with a baby whom both women claimed as their own. Solomon threatened to split the baby in half. One woman was prepared to accept the decision, but the other begged the king to give the live baby to the other woman. Solomon then knew that the second woman was the real mother.

Let's hope it doesn't take such drastic measures to determine the fate of the Jackson children.

30 comments:

thailandchani said...

Most people are saying that Debbie is showing up to get paid off. She doesn't really want the kids and made that really clear. Some people are saying Janet would be the best guardian... as long as the kids still have their nanny around - Grace - who has been there since the beginning and they are very attached to her.

Some news reporter said that Debbie has gone through all of her money already. She needs more.



~*

Anonymous said...

The whole issue is so very, very sad.

Warty Mammal said...

What a mess. I feel for the kids. They must feel as though they're living in a nightmare.

nick said...

These disputes over wills, property, children etc always seem to get very nasty and very prolonged. I suspect it will be some time before custody is sorted out legally, and even then the wrangles will continue behind the scenes. Funny how people suddenly pop out of the woodwork once large sums of money are at stake.

Avril Fleur said...

The kids should go to one of Michael's brothers or sisters to be raised with family & other children, and by people who are young and in good health and have the kids' best interests in mind.

Clearly this "mother" Debbie Rowe, does not and never has given a rats ass about these kids. And if she gets custody of the older two, there is still the question of what happens to the youngest, Blanket. She is not his mother. It is not right to split up those kids especially after just losing their father, the only constant person in their lives. Don't rip them apart even more.

the walking man said...

Paternity tests may yet prove that MJ was NOT the biological father of the kids. This may just play out until they all are of the age of majority.

wonderful though how people come out of the woodwork at the scent of money.

CiCi said...

This is so sad, just keeps getting more complicated and unstable for the kids as each day goes by. My heart goes out to the children, all three of them, regardless of how they were conceived. They deserve a chance to become healthy, happy, mature adults some day.

justme said...

so sad. i think that it could not be argued that debbie is wanting money, and i think that a clear sign that it would be detrimental to the kids to be with her is the fact that she doesn't really WANT them. how scary would that be, after your father has died, to be given to a woman, who you know, doesn't want you and hasn't, for 10 years.

meno said...

Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to conceive.

Ugh. Just ugh.

heartinsanfrancisco said...

Chani,

She ran through something like 30 million dollars already? That should have lasted several lifetimes at least. Perhaps she has some bad habits. :)

Rhubarb,

It is very, very sad.

Warts,

Even under normal circumstances, the kids pay most for divorce while these kids have the added burden of not knowing who they really are, even.

Nick,

If it turns out that Ms. Rowe is not the biological mother of Prince Michael and Paris, I would think she'd be laughed out of court. Greed never goes out of fashion, does it?

Avril,

I read somewhere that the kids are having a ball with their various cousins, none of whom they've met before. In fact, they have been completely isolated from other children all their lives. One of their aunts or uncles would be a good choice assuming there is genuine affection for them and not merely for the dollars they bring with them.

Mark,

I don't think there is any question that MJ was not the biological parent of any of the children. Their origins are all shrouded in mystery, most of all the youngest who was supposedly carried by a surrogate mother whom MJ never met. What a mess he's left for them.

Babe,

I'm so excited you made it here from my other blog. Welcome!

I also hope that some cool heads will prevail so that they have a chance to grow up safe and loved for themselves, as every child deserves.

Justyou,

Really. It's a bit hard to believe that she is suddenly overflowing with maternal love for children she has barely seen since they were born. Nobody has any idea what these kids have been through already. Their nanny may be the only person who really knows them. MJ was a genius entertainer, but he was also a drug addict with many personal problems which even with the best of intentions, would have made it hard to be a good parent.

Thank you for your visit!

Meno,

Will is turning in his grave. You know that, right? (Pretty funny, though:)

Taradharma said...

Avril makes the most sense of anyone yet - raise the kids with their cousins by aunts and uncles.

Alternately, the state of California can separate them and send each one to a loving foster family. Truth be told, this is done all the time (sadly).

heartinsanfrancisco said...

Tara,

Separate foster homes is always a possibility but I'm sure the Jacksons would insulate them from that. From what I've heard, many foster homes are NOT loving and I feel for kids who have to go through that system.

blooming desertpea said...

It's always the kids who suffer when adults are irresponsable, don't they?

Jocelyn said...

I personally have been hoping Auntie Janet could get the kids--for as much as she's got her own "stuff," I have always thought there's something fundamentally sweet and good in her.

If the family would just step aside, though, I'm pretty sure you and I, dear Heart, could do one hell of a job with those kids.

heartinsanfrancisco said...

Desert Pea,

Sadly, it's always the kids who get hurt most.

Jocelyn,

At the very least, they might teach us to moonwalk, although I'm not sure I have anything half as good to offer them in return.

Anonymous said...

In all of this, to be honest, it is only the children's welfare I can bring myself to care about. As for the rest of the carnival, can we please let it go and return the world to the few adults that must remain.

secret agent woman said...

I know, we could cut the mother in half and uh.. Okay, there's no good answer to this dilemma.

heartinsanfrancisco said...

Ian,

Adults, you say? There are adults out there? Well blimey, nobody tells me anything.

Agent,

Brilliant idea! Cutting the mother in half is the perfect solution. As every country kid knows, a severed worm will simply carry on as two separate entities. And it's not a bad analogy for Ms. Rowe, is it?

Maggie May said...

It's all very sad.

I'm new here and really enjoyed your post about the senior discount..I think about aging a lot. I am a 34 year old woman in America! so it's hard not to. I loved what you said about 'ego outlasting reality' or something akin...I think yes, that will be me!

Maria said...

I see children every day stuck in foster homes. Some of them are great people, but I have come to see that the majority of them are merely trying to make a living through the children and could care less. I look at these children and wonder what their lives will shake out as. I can't imagine why Jackson didn't think this through better. I mean, good lord, a 79 year old woman or a pop star who has never met the children? Sounds like a slam dunk for Debbie to me. And that makes me sad.

heartinsanfrancisco said...

Maggie,

I'm so glad you stopped by as I've been enjoying your blog. And I don't think there's anything wrong with a little vanity as long as it doesn't take over our life.

Maria,

Perhaps it's too much to expect that a man who lived in Neverland would have thought it through better.

Maybe some judge, somewhere, will call foul on Debbie because she seems to fit the definition of unfit mother.

Peter Clothier said...

Given the record, I can't imagine that any court would award custody to the mother. It doesn't take Solomon's wisdom to see how disastrous that would be. Thanks for the post...

Meggie said...

Everything about the bizarre story is sickening really. The children are just pawns in MJ's sick determination to be a 'father'.
As is said, the children always pay.

heartinsanfrancisco said...

Peter,

From your lips to the Court's ear. I hope you're right.

Meggie,

It's true. The heaviest burdens are often placed on the smallest shoulders.

Wanderlust Scarlett said...

It makes me physically sick. All of it. I'm sure this is just the tip of the money-burg battle.

I saw a great deal of strength in Paris, though, when she spoke of he father and was shown with her family. Glue. I saw very strong glue.

Sigh.

Scarlett & Viaggiatore

heartinsanfrancisco said...

Scarlett,

Well, don't sniff too much of that very strong glue. It will definitely make you physically sick.

Anonymous said...

Where did my long and very involved comment go? Argh!

heartinsanfrancisco said...

Rhubarb,

Did you write it in invisible ink? I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough.

On a limb with Claudia said...

This entire situation is so very hard and sad. No real parent would leave their children in this situation. But you're talking about a junkie. Junkie's aren't real parents. And that's just sad.

Now there's an alternative biological father on the scene. Aye.

heartinsanfrancisco said...

Claudia,

There seems to be an endless supply of alternative fathers and mothers queuing up for a handout - oh, and the kids, too, of course. Let's not forget the kids.

While DNA testing would solve some of the mystery, it would not determine who should have custody of these children whose circumstances are beyond bizarre.