Michael's Mother Gets Emotional

Oprah interviews Katherine Jackson

(November 11, 2010)

The long awaited interview of Katherine Jackson on Oprah finally aired this past Monday, November 8, 2010, wherein Michael Joseph Jackson's mother talked about the life and death of the King of Pop. Why is Katherine opening up now?

"I wanted to do it for his fans," she says, "and for the people that misunderstood him." How often does she think of her seventh child? "I think of my son all through the day," she told Oprah, "all the time, and I don't like to talk about him because I get all choked up."

She goes on to elaborate: "A baby in my arms, naming him with my mother....That comes to my mind every day....And sometimes during the day, I can hear his laughter in my mind."

Reportedly, Katherine stated she was "out in service" when she got the news that someone from Michael's house was taken by ambulance--covered with a sheet--to the hospital.

She stated that as one of Jehovah's Witnesses she was participating in the door-to-door ministry (or was "out in service" as the Witnesses call it) when she heard. Joe Jackson, her husband and Michael's father, had called her on her cell phone to inform her of the news.

Although she hoped and prayed that it wasn't Michael, she relates that she knew in her heart that it was.

The King's Closeness to Katherine: When Oprah interviewed Lisa Marie Presley, Michael's first wife, Lisa noted that Michael's love for Katherine was unconditional, and that there was simply nothing that he wouldn't do for her.

He had implicit trust in Mother Katherine. "He used to trust people," says the Jackson matriarch. "And after that trial, he didn't trust anybody. ... He would always tell me: ‘Mother, I don't trust anybody. The only person I trust is you.'"

At the same time, it was reported that Katherine also noted that though Michael loved her very much, he still didn't share everything with her. This is consistent with what happened when Michael, Katherine, Rebbie (his oldest sister, also one of Jehovah's Witnesses), Grace the nanny, his children, and I were all together at the Beverly Hills mansion he was renting at the time. He wanted to discuss several things with me that he did not want neither his mother, nor Rebbie, nor Grace to know.

Consequently, as I've stated on more than one occasion, he called me into a private meeting (daughter Paris insisted on attending, with the promise that she and her brother Prince would behave) to discuss some very sensitive matters, including his desire to have his children raised as he himself was--as Jehovah's Witnesses.

Joe Administers Justice: Despite being criticized for how he handled the grief of tragically losing his son, Joe Jackson, also interviewed, says he thinks about Michael every night. This is consistent with the Joe I know. "I just can't picture him gone," Joe says. "Every time I go into some place--a restaurant or a casino or something--his music is playing. ... It brings back memories because I remember the songs. I was at every recording session he ever did."

After declaring that he never "beat" his children, Joe rightfully boasted: "Nine kids, never been in jail." When Oprah asked, "Do you regret those strappings on your children?" Joe responded: "No, because it kept them all out of jail. I raised them right," he continued, "and they were good kids all the way."

Precious Paris, Proud Prince: How did the children receive the news of the death of their father? "They were crying," Katherine says. "I thought [Paris] was going to pass out. She was just saying: ‘Daddy, I can't make it without you. I want to be with you. I want to go with you.' I felt so bad for them."

Prince explained a tender moment between him and his loving father: "We were in Bahrain. [Jermaine and I had preceded them there and had returned stateside.] We used to wake up early and walk the beach." Paris adds, "He was a great cook!" Must be in the blood.