Father blasted over Michael Jackson death rant

Herald online

15 Jun, 2010 12:22 AM7 mins to read

The bitter war of words between pop clan patriarch Joe Jackson and his estranged wife Katherine has notched up a gear.

Less than two weeks before the one-year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death, his parents are locked in a bitch slapping and backstabbing fest over their son's demise.

It all kicked off over the weekend when Joe blasted his spouse in an interview with British tabloid the News of the World.

He blamed his wife of 60 years for MJ's death, asserting that she failed him as a mother and should have prevented the singer from spiralling into drug addiction.

In a video interview with the tabloid, Joe revealed that he launched into his wife when the pair was standing over the King of Pop's body on a mortuary table.

"Katherine was weeping uncontrollably and highly upset. But I didn't give her a hug because I was MAD at her crying," he recounted.

"I said, 'If you had listened to me Michael would be living now!' I kept thinking about the times I had stood in front of her saying something was wrong.

"I couldn't bottle up my feelings. Katherine didn't say a word - I had to get away from her. If she'd done what I asked, Michael would be here today. I am incensed with her. She could have made a difference."

He went on and stuck the knife in deeper.

"I told her, 'This would have not have happened if you had been with him a while because he would have been more relaxed. By you being with him, things would've went much better than what they did. We gone lost our son now.'"

Watch a snippet of his video interview below:

'Preposterous' claims

The patriarch's damning and outrageous comments haven't fallen on deaf ears. Katherine's supporters, namely her legal muscle, have slammed Joe and his caustic motormouth.

"The world knows that Mrs Jackson has always been a loving mother and grandmother, and that she and Michael had a very special relationship," her lawyer,

Adam Streisand

, told TMZ, adding, "the world also knows who Joe Jackson is and he seems bent on never letting us forget."

Howard Weitzman

, lawyer for the Michael Jackson estate, added, "The inference by Joe Jackson that Mrs Jackson was in any way responsible for Michael's death is preposterous.

"Katherine Jackson was a supportive and loving mother throughout Michael's life. His love and respect for her is reflected in his estate plan."

I concur. The fact that MJ left Joe out of his will speaks volumes. Not that that's stopped him from doing his best to get a slice of the Jackson money pie - he's tried repeatedly to get a monthly allowance from his late son's estate.

Word is MJ's lawyers are vehemently against the idea of Joe getting a court-approved allowance, meaning he'll have to get by on a monthly handout from Katherine.

Let's be honest here, poor MJ had some serious daddy issues. He'd previously accused him of mental abuse and blamed his adult woes on a pretty miserable childhood. The fact that papa Joe's now wading in and pointing the fickle finger of blame at his wife smacks of hypocrisy.

Joe, do us all a favour and put it back in your purse, mate.

June 25 marks the one-year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death.

Also...

Clapped eyes on this video of

La Toya Jackson

'singing' her late brother MJ's candy-coated, cheese-fest

Earth Song

on some obscure Russian TV show.

She's looking more and more like

this beauty

by the day. And, come to mention it, more than just a fleeting resemblance to

Rambo

's mama,

Jackie Stallone

No bambino

So the story goes that

Scarlett Johansson

and

Ryan Reynolds

are set to pull an

Angelina Jolie

and scoop themselves a little bundle of joy.

Star

magazine declared this week that the couple was to adopt a baby from Africa. Quoting an 'insider', the mag mused, "Scarlett has always wanted to adopt from outside the US. She feels now is finally the right time."

Word at the water cooler said the pair had narrowed down their global search to Ghana or Ethiopia.

But save your congratulations, they're not hearing the pitter-patter of tiny feet just yet.

A rep for Reynolds tells website Gossip Cop, "There is no truth to it whatsoever."

It must be love...

Perpetual trainwreck and one-time soul singer

Amy Winehouse

reportedly hauled her hiney into a rehab facility over the weekend.

I know, wonders may never cease. That new fella of hers might just be the tonic she so desperately needs.

According to

The Sun

, Wino was admitted to The London Clinic on Friday after a serious bender. Sources say she carted herself there voluntarily. Why? All in the name of love, apparently.

The line goes that Wino's boyfriend

Reg Traviss

wants her to quit the booze for good.

A snitch said: "When she's not on the bottle they get on brilliantly. But Reg has told her to quit the booze, otherwise he'll be off, and she hit it hard last week.

"She wants to keep him so has decided to make a huge effort to stay sober."

I want to believe you Wino, I really do, but images like

this

and

this

are indelibly etched and nailed with a nine-inch nail to my cranium.

Don't Belieb it

Has teenybopper

Justin Bieber

contracted syphilis? Of course he hasn't, and he's not dead either.

The lego-haired one was hit with not one, but two, mushrooming net rumours yesterday that he'd kicked the bucket and caught a nasty case of the STD (clearly not in that particular order).

The cacky rumour was kicked-off by some crackpot who created a particularly nasty Facebook page called 'I hope Justin Bieber dies of Syphilis before he's old enough to vote!!!!'

One hundred billion clicks and fevered gas-bagging later, the net goes into meltdown as his panicked fan base sleuths for a sliver of truth.

Suffice to say, the Bieb is alive and well. And as for the STD rumour, don't even go there. Nuttier than a squirrel's droppings.

Incidentally,

Kim Kardashian

clearly has a death wish. The reality TV screen-hogger has been snapped splish-splashing and frolicking on the beach in the Bahamas with Bieber.

See Kardashian embracing her Bieber Fever

here

She's brave. The last time she coyly hinted he was her boyf, the pop phenom's fans weren't amused. Some overzealous fans supposedly pelted her with death threats.

But cool your jets, the pair's seaside frolic was all in aid of a photoshoot for

Elle

magazine.

Video fix: Adam Lambert, If I Had You

The

American Idol

runner-up drops the video for his latest single. Of his new tune, Lambert says: "In addition to the fantastic beat and melody, the song's lyrics are what really stand out to me. The message is one of love."

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