In another interesting turn of events, Katherine Jackson appeared on ABC's Nightline last night to give her side of the saga that's been playing out for over a week. Mrs. Jackson was still in Arizona, at the luxe Miraval Resort in Tucson, and appeared on tv to read a statement. Oddly, the resort's marketing manager was by her side, as well as kids Janet, Jermaine & Rebbie and Rebbie's daughter Stacey..
Deets inside....
The 82-year-old matriarch of the Jackson Family decided enough was enough. And after losing temporary custody of Michael's 3 kids Paris, Blanket & Prince, she wanted to give some insight on the confusing turn of events.
Katherine spoke on national tv saying she's "devastated" by the "misunderstandings" of her whereabouts and accusations that her children have held her against her will. Janet and Jermaine whispered to each other a few times during Katherine's speech that she read off of paper. Mrs. Jackson said:
"There are rumors going around about me that I have been kidnapped and held against my will. I am here today to let everybody to know that I am fine. My children would never do a thing to me like that, holding me against my will. It's very stupid for people to think that."
Interestingly, she avoided the question of why the kids weren't told that she was leaving for Arizona for "rest". But she did say she stayed out of contact because she simply gave up her phone. She said she put her grandson TJ in charge before she left and her assistant checked in with him several times.
More highlights:
ON THE 'KIDNAPPING'
There are rumors going around about me that I have been kidnapped and held against my will.
I am here today to let everybody know that I am fine and I am here with my children, and my children would never do a thing to me like that, holding me against my will. It's very stupid for people to think that.
ON THE LOSS OF CUSTODY OF HER GRANDCHILDREN
I am devastated that while I've been away, that my children, my grandchildren, have been taken away from me, and I'm coming home to see about that, also.ON WHO WAS LOOKING AFTER HER GRANDCHILDREN
Before I left I put everything in order with the appropriate people to take care of my children for me and it's really bad to hear that what's going on at home, and the children have been taken away - but I know that... I'll get there in time to get them back.
And after I finish this, I will be on my way home.
ON WHERE SHE WENT
I am grateful for my children that they saw that I needed rest and they wanted to take me away for a while, just a short vacation and rest up.They have taken good care of me and have made sure that I got the rest that I needed.
ON WHY DIDN'T SHE CALL?
One reason I haven't called is I just gave up my phone and I didn't want to have any phone calls while I was here.
Katherine also said someone, and she doesn't know who, let go of the cook and some other house staff. And they didn't have authority to do so. So she fired nephew Trent & the house security team.
Here's a clip from last night below:
Katherine also said she is upset about her children now being in custody of someone else and she is working to rectify it.
Paris recently tweeted her father's lyrics from "Will You Be There?" And it's very telling:
She tweeted today, "Grandma's here. Thank you God."
Prince has also broken his silence and tweeted this statement:
I would first like to start off this tweet by thanking the fans that have always stood by me and my family, my dad really appreciated your support and I still treasure it to this day. As I am sure everyone is well aware of the events that have been going on. I have been holding off on backing up my sister and her tweets avidly because I was waiting for the time to reveal my side.
As long as I can remember my dad had repeatedly warned me of certain people and their ways. Although I am happy my grandma was returned, after speaking with her I realized how misguided and how badly she was lied to. I’m really angry and hurt.
The following image is of a group chat I had started to several family members. This group text message I had started was replied to but they didn’t know that I could see the responses. For this whole time, they denied us contact to our grandmother. “If you continue with your lies I will continue with the truth.”
The text message he's speaking of is this (which he tweeted):
The real question is--why is Janet and/or members of the family so intent on keeping Katherine away from the kids? They are all 15 and under. Don't they need parental guidance? What happened that made Janet not want the kids to speak to their grandmother?
Melissa Joan Hart Tami Donaldson Gretha Cavazzoni Stacy Keibler
