All posts containing the tag: "MichaelJackson"
Posted Mar 18th 2010 6:25PM by TMZ Staff
The stage is set for a dogfight between Debbie Rowe and the Estate of Michael Jackson.
Rowe's lawyer, Eric George, filed legal papers asking the judge in the estate case to order the estate to pay Debbie Rowe's lawyer more than $175,000 for legal services in connection with the appointment of a guardian for Michael Jackson's three kids.
In the end, Katherine Jackson became guardian. But in his legal docs, George claims estate lawyer Howard Weitzman promised to "reimburse [George's firm] on Ms. Rowe's behalf." George says in his documents that MJ's kids benefited when she reached an agreement with Katherine on guardianship and visitation, and that's why he asked Weitzman to have the estate foot his legal bill.
But Howard Weitzman begs to differ, telling TMZ, "I had discussions with Mr. George about his request that the estate pay his fees on behalf of Debbie Rowe, but no agreement was ever reached."
George is asking for a total of $177,975. If the estate isn't ordered to pay ... George's only recourse is Debbie.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Michael Jackson
Tags: debbie rowe, DebbieRowe, estate, guardianship, howard weitzman, HowardWeitzman, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, mother, paris jackson, ParisJackson, prince jackson, PrinceJackson
Posted Mar 16th 2010 8:10AM by TMZ Staff
TMZ has confirmed the Michael Jackson estate has signed the biggest deal ever in music -- worth up to $250 million with a guarantee of $200 million.
The estate made the deal with Sony Music Entertainment -- the contract is for 10 projects over seven years.
One album will debut in November, which contains never-before released recordings. We're told Jackson left enough material for at least three albums of fresh material.
A source tells TMZ the royalty rate on foreign sales is the key to the deal -- and 2/3 of the sales of MJ records traditionally have been outside the U.S.
And we're told Sony gets a two-year extension for the right to distribute the Michael Jackson catalog -- to 2017.
The deal has nothing to do with The Beatles' catalog -- it's all about MJ original recordings.
The agreement was brokered by John Branca and John McClain, executors of the MJ estate.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: 250 million, 250Million, album, albums, michael jackson, michael jackson estate, MichaelJackson, MichaelJacksonEstate, record-breaking, recordings, released, songs, sony, sony music, sony music entertainment, SonyMusic, SonyMusicEntertainment, unreleased recordings, UnreleasedRecordings
Posted Mar 16th 2010 7:05AM by TMZ Staff
Dr. Conrad Murray's lawyers say the L.A. County District Attorney still hasn't turned over the investigative documents and reports in the death of Michael Jackson ... and they say they smell a rat.
A rep for Murray's lawyer, Ed Chernoff, tells TMZ, "We remain confused by how suspiciously slow the D.A. has been in turning over the documents." The rep says Chernoff and his team "have not received anywhere near all of it."
According to the rep, the last docs they received were turned over more than two weeks ago.
As for the documents Dr. Murray's team has received, they've turned them over to their medical experts and the private investigator for review.
A rep for the D.A.'s Office tells TMZ, "The District Attorney's office is turning them over as soon as they are copied and cataloged. There is a huge number of documents and the process takes time."
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Michael Jackson, Exclusives
Tags: conrad murray, ConradMurray, da, discovery, documents, ed chernoff, EdChernoff, los angeles county district attorney, LosAngelesCountyDistrictAttorney, michael jackson, MichaelJackson
Posted Mar 15th 2010 10:00PM by TMZ Staff
TMZ has confirmed the Michael Jackson estate has signed the biggest deal ever in music -- worth up to $250 million with a guarantee of $200 million.
The estate made the deal with Sony Music Entertainment. According to the Associated Press, the contract is for 10 projects over seven years.
One album will debut in November, which contains never-before released recordings. We're told Jackson left enough material for at least three albums of fresh material.
A source tells TMZ the royalty rate on foreign sales is the key to the deal -- and 2/3 of the sales of MJ records traditionally have been outside the U.S.
And we're told Sony gets a two-year extension for the right to distribute the Michael Jackson catalog -- to 2017.
The deal was brokered by John Branca and John McClain, executors of the MJ estate.
Click here... it's not over yet
Tags: michael jackson, MichaelJackson, sony music, SonyMusic
Posted Mar 9th 2010 8:50AM by TMZ Staff
Michael Jackson's former bodyguards say they used to chaperon MJ around town while he made out with girls in the backseat.
Mike Garcia, Bill Whitfield and Javon "BJ" Beard told GMA this AM about their time working for the late pop star -- saying they don't believe Jacko was a pedophile and that he had "desires of women." As one put it, "Men know men."
More Michael Jackson
Filed under: TV, Michael Jackson
Tags: bill whitfield, BillWhitfield, good morning america, GoodMorningAmerica, javon bj beard, JavonBjBeard, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, mike garcia, MikeGarcia
Posted Mar 9th 2010 12:04AM by TMZ Staff
The Michael Jackson estate just laid the smack down on a bunch of Michael Jackson wannabes -- all over access to Neverland.
The wannabes are actually in a Michael Jackson tribute band named "Neverland" -- a name the MJ estate feels is a violation of its trademark.
Long story short: The MJ estate wrote a scary legal letter demanding the band change its name ... and it did ... to Foreverland.
Here's the catch. "Foreverland" still owns the rights to the domain name neverlandsf.com -- and it's willing to give it back to Camp Jacko ... for a cool $30,000.
In short, the Jackson estate told the band to "beat it" and gave them until February 2011 to begin forwarding all web traffic to the new foreverlandsf.com ... or else.
The band tells us they're currently going over their options.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Michael Jackson, Exclusives
Tags: band, estate, foreverland, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, neverland, trademark, tribute band, TributeBand
Posted Mar 8th 2010 11:38AM by TMZ Staff
On a family outing for the first time since the LAPD began investigating that whole stun gun mess, Jackson family children (L-R) Paris, Blanket, Prince, Jaafar and Jermajesty all went to the movies in Los Angeles yesterday, reportedly to see "Alice in Wonderland."
No word if they were celebrating anyone's unbirthday.
Filed under: Paparazzi Photo, Kids, Michael Jackson
Tags: blanket, jaafar jackson, JaafarJackson, jermajesty, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, movies, paris, prince, stun gun, StunGun
Posted Mar 6th 2010 4:00PM by TMZ Staff
Armed LAPD officers swarmed around the Jackson Estate tonight on foot and in the air, but it turned out to be much ado about nothing -- the perfect ending to a crazy week at the Encino home.
Around 9:00 PM PT, at least five officers entered through the front gate of the compound with shotguns drawn -- while an LAPD chopper circled overhead. Cops tell us they were responding to a burglary in progress call.
But everything was fine once they got on the grounds. We're told the emergency call -- which came from outside the house -- was a false alarm.
No word on exactly which Jacksons were home during the raid.
L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services investigators have been at the Jackson home all week over that whole stun gun thing with Jermaine's son Jaafar.
Filed under: Michael Jackson, Exclusives
Tags: burglary, cops, encino, false alarm, FalseAlarm, jackson compound, jackson estate, JacksonCompound, JacksonEstate, lapd, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, shotguns
Posted Mar 4th 2010 10:41AM by TMZ Staff
Debbie Rowe was at Michael Jackson's mausoleum in Glendale, CA yesterday, crying hysterically and hugging fans.
The emotional gathering occurred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park -- where a bunch of Michael Jackson fans meet on the third day of every month and bring cards, gifts and letters from fans around the world ... this according to LisaBurks.com.
Turns out Debbie -- Michael's ex-wife -- showed up to Forest Lawn as the meeting was in full swing, and started hugging MJ's fans and crying.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: debbie rowe, DebbieRowe, michael jackson, MichaelJackson
Posted Mar 4th 2010 5:00AM by TMZ Staff
Jermaine Jackson's messy divorce set up a series of events that led to a knock at Katherine Jackson's door by the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services ... TMZ has learned.
Jermaine filed for divorce from Alejandra Jackson in 2004. They fought hard over child support. According to legal documents obtained by TMZ, Jermaine pressured Alejandra to live with the couple's two children -- Jaafar and Jermajesty -- in the Jackson family home in Encino. Alejandra claimed in the docs Jermaine wanted her to live in his mom's home so he didn't have to pay her support.
In legal docs filed last year, Alejandra complained most of the support money she received was from Katherine, frequently in the form of gift cards from Ralphs supermarket -- the very same place Jaafar bought a credit card so he could purchase the stun gun online.
Alejandra has been living in Katherine's home, along with Jaafar and Jermajesty, Genevieve and Randall -- the latter two kids were born during Alejandra's marriage to Randy Jackson, Jermaine's brother. Another minor, Dante, is living in the home -- a child the Jackson's essentially adopted. Add to that Michael Jackson's three kids, Prince, Paris and Blanket and 79-year-old Katherine is juggling responsibilities for 8 children.
Turns out 26 bathrooms and 12 bedrooms came in handy. Who knew?
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Michael Jackson, Exclusives
Tags: alejandra jackson, AlejandraJackson, blanket, dante, DCFS, department of children and family services, DepartmentOfChildrenAndFamilyServices, genevieve, jaafar, jermaine, jermajesty, katherine jackson, KatherineJackson, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, paris, prince, ralphs, randall, randy, stun gun, StunGun
Posted Mar 3rd 2010 3:55PM by TMZ Staff
So how does a 13-year-old boy score a stun gun? It's as easy as buying groceries.
TMZ has learned Jaafar Jackson, Jermaine's precocious boy, found a serious loophole in his pursuit of the electronic weapon -- at an L.A. Ralphs supermarket.
Sources tell us Jaafar bought several gift cards from the market -- we're told either Visa or American Express. He then used the cards to purchase the weapon online.
Online sites that sell the weapon in question make prospective buyers declare they are 18 years of age or older.
So apparently, Jaafar figured out if he got a lawful credit card number, no one would be the wiser.
Smart kid.
Filed under: Kids, Michael Jackson, Exclusives
Tags: child and family services, ChildAndFamilyServices, jaafar jackson, JaafarJackson, katherine jackson, KatherineJackson, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, online, ralphs, stun gun, StunGun
Posted Mar 3rd 2010 12:05PM by TMZ Staff
TMZ has learned the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services will be coming back to the Jackson family home in Encino to interview the children ... and deal with a little Internet problem going on inside the house.
Sources tell us DCFS spent 6 1/2 hours yesterday speaking with adult family members as well as staff.
We're told many -- but not all -- of the people social workers spoke with are giving the same account as Katherine Jackson (through her lawyer, Adam Streisand).
Sources tell us one of the issues DCFS wants to deal with today is making sure there are controls on the access children in the house have to the Internet.
As we first reported, Jermaine Jackson's 13-year-old son, Jaafar, purchased a stun gun online -- and that's what triggered the DCFS investigation.
Filed under: Michael Jackson, Exclusives
Tags: childrens services, ChildrensServices, dcfs, department of children and family services, DepartmentOfChildrenAndFamilyServices, family house, FamilyHouse, internet, jackson family home, JacksonFamilyHome, jafaar, jermaine jackson, JermaineJackson, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, online, stun gun, StunGun, taser
Posted Mar 3rd 2010 11:53AM by TMZ Staff
Michael Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe just won a defamation lawsuit she filed against a woman who allegedly spread lies about her in the press -- and now Debbie's $27,000 richer for it.
Debbie sued Rebecca White back in July when White went on "Extra" after Michael's death and claimed Debbie didn't care about getting custody of Michael's kids ... and was only interested in getting money from the Jackson family.
Rebecca never responded to Debbie's lawsuit ... so the judge entered a default judgment today in L.A. County Superior Court.
Debbie was awarded $27,000 -- including $10,000 in damages for the emotional distress she supposedly suffered after White's interview hit the airwaves.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: debbie rowe, DebbieRowe, defamation lawsuit, DefamationLawsuit, default judgement, DefaultJudgement, extra, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, rebecca white, RebeccaWhite
Posted Mar 3rd 2010 6:45AM by TMZ Staff
The L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services conducted a marathon investigation yesterday at the Jackson family compound in Encino -- trying to figure out what exactly happened with a stun gun on the property.
DCFS social workers arrived at 4 PM yesterday and left at around 10:30 PM -- 6 1/2 hours later.
As we first reported, DCFS showed up the night before after receiving a tip that Jermaine Jackson's 13-year-old son, Jaafar, was playing with a stun gun on the second floor of the residence.
Sources tell us the social workers are interviewing all of the children in the house -- including Michael Jackson's 3 kids -- along with other family members and staff. We're told DCFS is taking the investigation very seriously and the plan yesterday was to come back today as well.
Sources say some of the individual interviews have taken a long time and there is a lot of tension on the property.
We've learned there's a conflict among people who live and work at the property. We know some members of the staff will tell DCFS that the stun gun was there for several days, before a member of security went upstairs and allegedly found Jaafar and other kids playing with the gun and pointing it at Michael's sons Blanket and Prince.
Katherine Jackson's lawyer, Adam Streisand, insists Blanket and Prince were never in the room with the gun and that Jaafar was playing with the gun for a few minutes -- not days -- before it was confiscated.
Some members of the staff will tell DCFS there is a second stun gun on the property. Streisand says that is absolutely not true.
Filed under: Michael Jackson, Exclusives
Tags: blanket, child services, ChildServices, dcfs, department of childrens services, DepartmentOfChildrensServices, encino, jackson home, JacksonHome, jermaine jackson, JermaineJackson, katherine jackson, KatherineJackson, kids, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, prince, stun gun, StunGun
Posted Mar 2nd 2010 7:08PM by TMZ Staff
Here's the type of stun gun DCFS officials confiscated at the Jackson family home last night -- and according to the manufacturer, it's the smallest, most powerful single battery unit on the market.
Sources tell TMZ Jaafar Jackson ordered a Scorpion 300,000 volt stun gun online. According to the company website, "the power derived from only one 9 volt battery is unreal."
It also fits easily into a pocket or purse.
As TMZ first reported, DCFS officials just returned to the Jackson family home to further question the kids, family and employees on the property.
A family source tells TMZ, "Jaafar fired the gun into a piece of paper."
Filed under: Michael Jackson, Exclusives
Tags: blanket, department of chldren and family services, DepartmentOfChldrenAndFamilyServices, jaafar jackson, JaafarJackson, jackson family, JacksonFamily, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, stun gun, StunGun
