Celebritology Archive: Michael Jackson

Woman Claims Jacko Gave Her Baby to Tom Cruise

In addition to the myriad other head scratchers surrounding the the death of Michael Jackson, the one-time pop singer's demise finally provided a platform for a possible schizophrenic to gain national coverage of her fantastic delusions. On Monday, one Claire Elizabeth Fields Cruise -- a 43-year-old woman who describes herself as the president of the Department of Empowerment --- stepped forward claiming to be the mother of Michael Jackson's three children. Watch her presser outside the L.A. County Courthouse below: How Cruise managed to convince a gaggle of reporters to gather for a press conference I don't know, but at least one person -- a former high school classmate she claims is the real father of Paris Jackson -- is saying Cruise "is not quite right." Cruise claims to be the biological mother of Prince Michael, Paris and Blanket but not to have actually carried them herself. Not only that...

Katherine Jackson Gets Full Custody of Jackson Children

Prince Michael II (aka Blanket) clutches a Michael Jackson action figure at June's memorial tribute to his father. (Reuters) An agreement has been reached placing Michael Jackson's three children -- Prince Michael (12), Paris (11) and Blanket (7) -- in the care of his mother, 79-year-old Katherine Jackson. Jackson lawyer L. Londell McMillan broke news of the arrangement on Thursday's CBS "Early Show"; a press release from Jackson's lawyers said the agreement will be presented on Monday to the Los Angeles Superior Court for approval. The agreement also stipulates that Debbie Rowe, biological mother of Jackson's two eldest children, will have regular visitation accompanied by a child psychologist and that Rowe will not receive any compensation other than the spousal support she has already been receiving. "There is no situation better for these children than for them to be raised and reared in the loving care of Mrs. Katherine...

Fact or Fiction? Reading the Fine Print on Jackson's Life

(Image courtesy Simon & Shuster) The first posthumous Michael Jackson bio/tell-all has arrived. Ian Halperin's "Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson" was already in the works when Jackson died on June 25, but sensing the smell of money to be made, Halperin's publishers rushed the book -- updated to include details about Jackson's final days -- into production and launched it yesterday. Already, the book is ranked No. 2 on Amazon.com's Bestseller List, behind a Glenn Beck-penned anti-Government manifesto and just ahead of Dan Brown's newest thriller. But why spend your hard-earned ducats on an MJ bio when you can get the most explosive allegations right here? Halperin claims Jackson's greedy circle of employees and so-called friends are responsible for the one-time King of Pop's death. Halperin writes that Jackson was gay and would wear elaborate disguises when meeting one of his eight gay lovers, who he forced...

The Jackson Kids: What Now?

Prince Michael II (aka Blanket) clutches a Michael Jackson action figure at Tuesday's Staples Center tribute to his father. (Reuters) I have one nagging Michael Jackson-related issue that just won't let me rest until we talk about it. Michael Jackson's children, had the singer been alive and able to attend his own memorial service, would have been covered in veils or masks and daughter Paris would never have been allowed near the mic to share her heart-wrenching grief with 31 million viewers (in the U.S. alone). If the rest of Jackson's life -- his finances, health, career -- were a bit scattered, he was meticulous in one thing -- guarding the privacy of his three children. Until his death on June 25, the peeks we had of Prince Michael (12), Paris (11) and Blanket (7) were rare and, as mentioned above, their faces were often obscured by masks or...

Twittering the Michael Jackson Memorial

Queen Latifah read a poem written for the event by poet Maya Angelou. (Getty Images) Update: Thanks to everyone who joined us for today's Tweet-a-thon and, of course to David Malitz and Ashley Surdin for helping to provide the running commentary. A transcript is below. -- 4:32 p.m. ET. Join Post Rock blogger David Malitz, The Post's Ashley Surdin and me, Liz, as we Tweet live during Tuesday's Michael Jackson public memorial event. David and I will be watching along with you, while Ashley plans to send her dispatches live from L.A.'s Staples Center. The Associated Press's streaming video coverage of the event is posted above, but you can also watch on a new page. The Tweeting is underway below, but will ramp up as we approach the 1 p.m. ET Staples Center start time, and we plan to stick with it until the end, which we're told will...

Jacko Overload?

I'm Liz and I'm a Jacko-holic. I'm as wary as the next celebrity news blogger about over-covering the Michael Jackson story, but the crowning of Jacko as the King of Celebrity Deaths (his funeral is expected to dwarf Princess Diana's) and wall-to-wall coverage has slowed our usual diet of celeb news to a trickle. The week after a triumvirate of celeb deaths (let's not forget we lost Farrah and Ed last week, too) even pix of Sarah Jessica Parker's new twins and the latest Jon and Kate update seem ho-hum. So I'll admit it. The crush of Jackson details (I'm somewhat of a bizarro news aficionado, which will come as no surprise to long-time Celebritology readers who shudder at the memory of the now-retired "Britney Watch" and my abiding taste for stuff like this and this) has distracted me to the point of uselessness for all non-Jacko-related stories. I've had...

Older Entries in This Category »

What Will Happen to Michael Jackson's Kids? , Liz , June 29, 2009

Michael Jackson: Separating the Artist from the Art, Liz , June 26, 2009

Share Your Michael Jackson Memories, Liz , June 25, 2009

Breaking: Michael Jackson Dead -- LA Times Report, Liz , June 25, 2009

The Ka-Ching of Pop: Michael Jackson Unloads His Treasures, Liz , February 27, 2009

Coming to Terms with Michael Jackson at 50, Liz , December 22, 2008