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Rowe denies taking cash to give up custody claim on Jacko’s kids
By CMU Editorial | Published on Thursday 16 July 2009
Michael Jackson’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe has denied reports that she has received $4 million from the Jackson family to give up her rights to the couple’s two children Prince Michael and Paris.
Whether or not Rowe will make a custody claim for Jackson’s two eldest kids is still unclear – rumours say she will, but her lawyer has been very non-committal about Rowe’s intentions from the start. Jackson’s will, of course, gave custody of all three of the singer’s children to his mother Katherine. A court hearing on the custody issue was postponed earlier this week, at the request of both Rowe and Jackson’s mother, to allow out of court negotiations to continue.
It was the New York Post that reported this week that the result of those out of court negotiations was that the Jackson family had offered to pay Rowe $4 million in return for her formally relinquishing custody rights to the two children. And the newspaper alleged Rowe had accepted the offer.
But Rowe’s lawyer, Eric George, has denied those claims. In an open letter to the Post he wrote: “Ms Rowe has not and will not give up her parental rights. No determination has been reached concerning custody or visitation. And Ms Rowe has not accepted and will not accept any additional financial consideration beyond the spousal support she and Michael personally agreed to several years ago”.
The Jackson family also denied offering any pay out to Rowe, and George demanded the Post publish an “immediate retraction” of its original story, though the paper has refused and says it stands by its original report on the custody deal.
In related news, new reports suggest Rowe doesn’t want custody of the children anyway. A supposed friend of Jacko’s ex has told US entertainment show Extra that Rowe doesn’t want the job of looking after Prince Michael and Paris, but has been advised by her legal people to show at least an interest in taking on more responsibility for the children so not to look heartless.
Rowe friend Rebecca White told the TV show: “It’s not like she doesn’t love them. It’s not like she doesn’t want the best for them, but her life is different… The idea of being a mother to those children is something I don’t think she really wants”.
