ONTD Retrospective: A Look Back at the "Granny Are You OK?" Saga of Summer 2012
Those of us who have been around ONTD for awhile probably remember the absolute madness that was the summer of 2012. Notably, that summer, we were treated to the divorce saga between Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, in addition to the fallout that came from Kristen Stewart cheating with the director of Snow White and the Huntsman. However, I was recently reminded of another incident that occurred that summer - the alleged kidnapping of the Jackson family matriarch, Katherine Jackson by several of the Jackson siblings. I thought it would be fun to revisit this saga almost a decade later to see if we can decipher what the heck really happened.
The first ONTD post on this saga appeared on July 22, 2012, featuring a CNN article and tweets from MJ's daughter Paris. Paris claimed that she had not spoken to her grandmother (the legal guardian of Michael Jackson's kids) in a week, after supposedly going to New Mexico to see the Jackson brothers in concert. CNN also revealed that five of the Jackson siblings - Rebbie, Janet, Tito, Jermaine, and Randy - had recently authored a letter stating that Katherine was being mistreated by the executors of MJ's estate.
Paris, then 14, attempted to get in contact with her grandmother, but was only able to reach aunts Rebbie and Janet, who said Katherine was fine and that Paris could not speak to her. Katherine's nephew, Trent Jackson, and several lawyers then filed a missing persons report.
CNN sources then reported that Randy and Jermaine Jackson were orchestrating all of this in order to have Katherine Jackson declared infirm and requiring a conservatorship - thus allowing one or both of them to become Katherine's conservator and being able to access MJ's money. Jermaine then tweeted that his mother was fine and simply could not talk to anyone for the sake of her health.
Following this, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department made many efforts to get in touch with Katherine, but were unable to reach her.
July 23rd, 2012
The next day, we learned that Katherine was allegedly "safe" and "resting with family in Arizona". It was also stated that the five siblings who had sent the letter about Katherine's health were also attempting to have MJ's will declared fake. Finally, we learned that Katherine Jackson had not been present at any of the Jackson concerts she was supposedly out of town attending.
In a TwitLonger, Jermaine Jackson made the following statement:
Let me put to bed today's nonsense: as I made clear some days ago, Mother is safe and well in Arizona with her daughter and our sister, Rebbie, resting up on doctor's advice, so it is beyond me how she can be reported "missing"
This incredulous claim was made for reasons best known to the adult/s who filed it but it seems no accident that it comes after we, the sons and daughters, put in place care-taking for our own mother, taking her to Arizona in line with doctor's advice following a check-up.
Furthermore, it dismays me that such an alarmist "missing person" report has caused unnecessary anxiety among Michael's children who will understandably react to what they misunderstand, hear or are told.
No-one is being "blocked" from speaking with Mother. She is merely an 82-year-old woman following doctor's orders to rest-up and de-stress, away from phones and computers. Everyone has been well aware of this within the family, but I would like to reiterate my reassurance to the outside world that Mother is fine. In the meantime, thank you for all your thoughts and concerns.
Also on this day, one of the five siblings who had signed the letter, Tito Jackson, went to the media and stated that he did not want anything to do with what Randy, Jermaine, Rebbie, and Janet were doing and revoked his signature, claiming he was manipulated into signing it.
July 24th, 2012
To borrow the headline from one of the posts on ONTD that day, shit got real.
The first thing we learned was that MJ's estate lawyers and members of the Jackson family not involved in this whole debacle were working to have someone gain temporary guardianship over the kids. TJ Jackson, Tito's son was revealed to be the family member seeking temporary guardianship, a decision that all three kids supported.
That afternoon, Janet, Randy, and Jermaine showed up at the California residence of Katherine Jackson and the children. The three then proceeded to attempt to forcibly remove MJ's kids from the residence to take them to "see Katherine in Arizona". The kids refused to leave with them, thus prompting Janet, Jermaine, and Randy to attempt to take away the kids' phones and force them to come with them. The security detail and Trent Jackson, Katherine's nephew, prevented the kids from being taken and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department was called to the scene. One of the three then allegedly admitted that the plan to remove Katherine from MJ's kids had been in the works for three years, essentially since the death of Michael Jackson. It was also alleged that Janet Jackson slapped Paris Jackson during this confrontation and called her a "spoiled little bitch", however Paris denied that she was slapped. Additionally, Trent Jackson was reported to have punched Jermaine in the mouth.
A video of the confronation was released, showing Janet and Jermaine rushing the children after they got out of a car.
The Sheriff's department was finally able to see and speak with Katherine Jackson in Arizona, thus closing the missing persons case. However, it was announced that the Sheriff's Department was also now investigating claims of elder abuse against Katherine by several of the Jackson siblings (no specific names were stated). The siblings behind the plot then released a picture of Katherine playing cards with Rebbie and other family members to prove she was OK. (This photo appears to have been scrubbed from the Internet, as I cannot find it anywhere - just reports about it being released.)
Later that night, two of the three Jackson siblings who had not signed the letter (Marlon and Jackie), as well as Tito, who had retracted his name from the original letter, gave an interview to Insider. Marlon stated "All I know is there's somebody who made the decision that my mother cannot talk to me, and whoever that person is, they've got to answer to me, because I'm going to see my mother and I'm going to bring her home.", before walking away in tears.
However, Randy Jackson also gave an interview. In his interview, Randy claimed that the executors of MJ's will were "criminals" who falsified MJ's will. Paris then tweeted - "Family, they said."
July 25, 2012
Katherine Jackson herself made two calls to her grandchildren in the middle of the night. The first call was at 2AM Pacific Time and she called again at 4AM. It is unclear who spoke to Katherine during these phone calls, however she allegedly demanded that all of the current security team be fired and replaced with Janet Jackson's security team. Additionally, she also demanded that Trent Jackson be removed from the premises. However, the individuals who spoke with her were very concerned about her health, stating that Katherine sounded drugged. After hearing the recording of the conversation, a judge awarded TJ temporary guardianship.
That evening, Katherine Jackson appeared in an exclusive interview with ABC news, surrounded by her family members who had whisked her away to Arizona in the first place, at a spa/resort where Katherine had allegedly been staying.
In the interview, Katherine claimed that she simply did not feel like talking to anyone on the phone for the past 10 days. Here are some of the quotes from the interview:
"There are rumors going around about me that I have been kidnapped. I am here today to let everybody to know that I am good and fine.
"One reason I didn't call is I just gave up my phone and I didn't want to have any phone calls while I was here."
Many people noted that the family members surrounding her seemed to be there to ensure she did not say anything to incriminate them. Katherine stated that she would be heading home after the interview.
July 26, 2012
Around 2:00 AM, Katherine returned to the California home she shared with the children. Randy Jackson later tweeted THIS IS NOT OVER.
Later that day, Prince, the oldest of MJ's three kids, then 15, finally broke his silence, releasing a statement via Twitter and screenshots of a concerning group text message sent to Rebbie, Janet, and Austin Jackson in which he says he demands to speak to his grandmother. Janet Jackson then replied "don't let them plz."
His 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"
-- Michael Jackson Jr.
July 30, 2012
It is announced that all three kids have been interviewed and the general consensus is that it would be best for TJ Jackson to become the permanent co-guardian of MJ's kids, becoming responsible for things at the Jackson home, while Katherine Jackson would remain in charge of the finances left by MJ
August 3, 2012
After a few days of silence, we learned that Katherine Jackson gave a statement on August 2 detailing her side of the story. Katherine claimed that she was put on a plane to go to New Mexico for a concert, however when the plane landed, she found herself in Tucson, Arizona, home of Rebbie Jackson. She then stated that, contrary to what she had said previously, her cell phone had been taken away by the resort staff. The staff then asked her if she could communicate with her family with her iPad. When Katherine said yes, the staff then took away her iPad. The television in her room was also broken and the staff would not listen to her requests to fix it. She was unaware of what was happening until she happened to catch a glimpse of another TV at the spa - though there was no sound, it was broadcasting a news report about her being missing. Katherine had been under the impression that the kids knew where she was.
"I was informed by those who I was with that they had been in contact with others concerning the well-being of my grandchildren. I was never informed that Prince, Paris, Blanket and T.J. were trying to reach me. Had I known the fact, and if I had been provided with the means to contact [them]... I would never have gone for such a long period of time without communicating with them."
We also learned that another sibling, Jermaine, (kind of) withdrew his name from the legal documents challenging the estate, leaving Rebbie, Janet, and Randy as the sole signers.
April 25, 2013
Wait, this is still going on? Yup, after months of silence, the only Jackson sibling who had said nothing throughout the whole ordeal, LaToya, broke her silence about the incident. LaToya echoed what MJ's kids, Marlon, Tito, and Jackie had said months prior - her siblings had indeed kidnapped her mother. In the first episode of her OWN reality show, LaToya stated "The truth is, they did kidnap her and we had to keep asking, 'Where is she? Where is she? Where is she?' Begging and begging them, and nobody would let us speak to her."
And that's it.
Wait. What?
OH COME ON.
February-April 2017
Yeah, so remember Trent Jackson, Katherine's nephew who punched Jermaine in the face? Allegedly, he'd been manipulating her from behind the scenes for years. In 2017, Katherine filed a restraining order against Trent citing elder abuse. It was said that Trent Jackson had been using his position as her driver to gain access to her money and control her, forcing Katherine Jackson to talk to her grandkids in a closet, among other issues.
Trent Jackson accused Jermaine and Rebbie Jackson of being responsible for Katherine filing for a restraining order. After the restraining order was filed, Rebbie and Jermaine took Katherine to London. and kept her from contacting any of the family members still in America - including MJ's kids and the other Jackson siblings. It was stated that this was so Katherine would not be subject to "outside influences" in the court case.
Two months later, Katherine returned to the US, flanked by Rebbie and Jermaine, who attempted to shield Katherine from sight and instantly took her to a relative's house, attempting to keep MJ's kids and other relatives from realizing that Katherine was back in the US.
The case went to court at the end of April, where all charges against Trent Jackson were thrown out.
And that's the most recent information on this saga that I can find!
What is your theory, ONTD? Was she kidnapped? Did she know what was going on the whole time? What's the deal with Trent?
sources
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
what do you think happened, ONTD? also would you be interested in more of these retrospectives?
The first ONTD post on this saga appeared on July 22, 2012, featuring a CNN article and tweets from MJ's daughter Paris. Paris claimed that she had not spoken to her grandmother (the legal guardian of Michael Jackson's kids) in a week, after supposedly going to New Mexico to see the Jackson brothers in concert. CNN also revealed that five of the Jackson siblings - Rebbie, Janet, Tito, Jermaine, and Randy - had recently authored a letter stating that Katherine was being mistreated by the executors of MJ's estate.
Paris, then 14, attempted to get in contact with her grandmother, but was only able to reach aunts Rebbie and Janet, who said Katherine was fine and that Paris could not speak to her. Katherine's nephew, Trent Jackson, and several lawyers then filed a missing persons report.
CNN sources then reported that Randy and Jermaine Jackson were orchestrating all of this in order to have Katherine Jackson declared infirm and requiring a conservatorship - thus allowing one or both of them to become Katherine's conservator and being able to access MJ's money. Jermaine then tweeted that his mother was fine and simply could not talk to anyone for the sake of her health.
Following this, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department made many efforts to get in touch with Katherine, but were unable to reach her.
July 23rd, 2012
The next day, we learned that Katherine was allegedly "safe" and "resting with family in Arizona". It was also stated that the five siblings who had sent the letter about Katherine's health were also attempting to have MJ's will declared fake. Finally, we learned that Katherine Jackson had not been present at any of the Jackson concerts she was supposedly out of town attending.
In a TwitLonger, Jermaine Jackson made the following statement:
Let me put to bed today's nonsense: as I made clear some days ago, Mother is safe and well in Arizona with her daughter and our sister, Rebbie, resting up on doctor's advice, so it is beyond me how she can be reported "missing"
This incredulous claim was made for reasons best known to the adult/s who filed it but it seems no accident that it comes after we, the sons and daughters, put in place care-taking for our own mother, taking her to Arizona in line with doctor's advice following a check-up.
Furthermore, it dismays me that such an alarmist "missing person" report has caused unnecessary anxiety among Michael's children who will understandably react to what they misunderstand, hear or are told.
No-one is being "blocked" from speaking with Mother. She is merely an 82-year-old woman following doctor's orders to rest-up and de-stress, away from phones and computers. Everyone has been well aware of this within the family, but I would like to reiterate my reassurance to the outside world that Mother is fine. In the meantime, thank you for all your thoughts and concerns.
Also on this day, one of the five siblings who had signed the letter, Tito Jackson, went to the media and stated that he did not want anything to do with what Randy, Jermaine, Rebbie, and Janet were doing and revoked his signature, claiming he was manipulated into signing it.
July 24th, 2012
To borrow the headline from one of the posts on ONTD that day, shit got real.
The first thing we learned was that MJ's estate lawyers and members of the Jackson family not involved in this whole debacle were working to have someone gain temporary guardianship over the kids. TJ Jackson, Tito's son was revealed to be the family member seeking temporary guardianship, a decision that all three kids supported.
That afternoon, Janet, Randy, and Jermaine showed up at the California residence of Katherine Jackson and the children. The three then proceeded to attempt to forcibly remove MJ's kids from the residence to take them to "see Katherine in Arizona". The kids refused to leave with them, thus prompting Janet, Jermaine, and Randy to attempt to take away the kids' phones and force them to come with them. The security detail and Trent Jackson, Katherine's nephew, prevented the kids from being taken and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department was called to the scene. One of the three then allegedly admitted that the plan to remove Katherine from MJ's kids had been in the works for three years, essentially since the death of Michael Jackson. It was also alleged that Janet Jackson slapped Paris Jackson during this confrontation and called her a "spoiled little bitch", however Paris denied that she was slapped. Additionally, Trent Jackson was reported to have punched Jermaine in the mouth.
Click to viewA video of the confronation was released, showing Janet and Jermaine rushing the children after they got out of a car.
The Sheriff's department was finally able to see and speak with Katherine Jackson in Arizona, thus closing the missing persons case. However, it was announced that the Sheriff's Department was also now investigating claims of elder abuse against Katherine by several of the Jackson siblings (no specific names were stated). The siblings behind the plot then released a picture of Katherine playing cards with Rebbie and other family members to prove she was OK. (This photo appears to have been scrubbed from the Internet, as I cannot find it anywhere - just reports about it being released.)
Later that night, two of the three Jackson siblings who had not signed the letter (Marlon and Jackie), as well as Tito, who had retracted his name from the original letter, gave an interview to Insider. Marlon stated "All I know is there's somebody who made the decision that my mother cannot talk to me, and whoever that person is, they've got to answer to me, because I'm going to see my mother and I'm going to bring her home.", before walking away in tears.
However, Randy Jackson also gave an interview. In his interview, Randy claimed that the executors of MJ's will were "criminals" who falsified MJ's will. Paris then tweeted - "Family, they said."
July 25, 2012
Katherine Jackson herself made two calls to her grandchildren in the middle of the night. The first call was at 2AM Pacific Time and she called again at 4AM. It is unclear who spoke to Katherine during these phone calls, however she allegedly demanded that all of the current security team be fired and replaced with Janet Jackson's security team. Additionally, she also demanded that Trent Jackson be removed from the premises. However, the individuals who spoke with her were very concerned about her health, stating that Katherine sounded drugged. After hearing the recording of the conversation, a judge awarded TJ temporary guardianship.
That evening, Katherine Jackson appeared in an exclusive interview with ABC news, surrounded by her family members who had whisked her away to Arizona in the first place, at a spa/resort where Katherine had allegedly been staying.
In the interview, Katherine claimed that she simply did not feel like talking to anyone on the phone for the past 10 days. Here are some of the quotes from the interview:
"There are rumors going around about me that I have been kidnapped. I am here today to let everybody to know that I am good and fine.
"One reason I didn't call is I just gave up my phone and I didn't want to have any phone calls while I was here."
Many people noted that the family members surrounding her seemed to be there to ensure she did not say anything to incriminate them. Katherine stated that she would be heading home after the interview.
July 26, 2012
Around 2:00 AM, Katherine returned to the California home she shared with the children. Randy Jackson later tweeted THIS IS NOT OVER.
Later that day, Prince, the oldest of MJ's three kids, then 15, finally broke his silence, releasing a statement via Twitter and screenshots of a concerning group text message sent to Rebbie, Janet, and Austin Jackson in which he says he demands to speak to his grandmother. Janet Jackson then replied "don't let them plz."
His 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"
-- Michael Jackson Jr.
July 30, 2012
It is announced that all three kids have been interviewed and the general consensus is that it would be best for TJ Jackson to become the permanent co-guardian of MJ's kids, becoming responsible for things at the Jackson home, while Katherine Jackson would remain in charge of the finances left by MJ
August 3, 2012
After a few days of silence, we learned that Katherine Jackson gave a statement on August 2 detailing her side of the story. Katherine claimed that she was put on a plane to go to New Mexico for a concert, however when the plane landed, she found herself in Tucson, Arizona, home of Rebbie Jackson. She then stated that, contrary to what she had said previously, her cell phone had been taken away by the resort staff. The staff then asked her if she could communicate with her family with her iPad. When Katherine said yes, the staff then took away her iPad. The television in her room was also broken and the staff would not listen to her requests to fix it. She was unaware of what was happening until she happened to catch a glimpse of another TV at the spa - though there was no sound, it was broadcasting a news report about her being missing. Katherine had been under the impression that the kids knew where she was.
"I was informed by those who I was with that they had been in contact with others concerning the well-being of my grandchildren. I was never informed that Prince, Paris, Blanket and T.J. were trying to reach me. Had I known the fact, and if I had been provided with the means to contact [them]... I would never have gone for such a long period of time without communicating with them."
We also learned that another sibling, Jermaine, (kind of) withdrew his name from the legal documents challenging the estate, leaving Rebbie, Janet, and Randy as the sole signers.
April 25, 2013
Wait, this is still going on? Yup, after months of silence, the only Jackson sibling who had said nothing throughout the whole ordeal, LaToya, broke her silence about the incident. LaToya echoed what MJ's kids, Marlon, Tito, and Jackie had said months prior - her siblings had indeed kidnapped her mother. In the first episode of her OWN reality show, LaToya stated "The truth is, they did kidnap her and we had to keep asking, 'Where is she? Where is she? Where is she?' Begging and begging them, and nobody would let us speak to her."
And that's it.
Wait. What?
OH COME ON.
February-April 2017
Yeah, so remember Trent Jackson, Katherine's nephew who punched Jermaine in the face? Allegedly, he'd been manipulating her from behind the scenes for years. In 2017, Katherine filed a restraining order against Trent citing elder abuse. It was said that Trent Jackson had been using his position as her driver to gain access to her money and control her, forcing Katherine Jackson to talk to her grandkids in a closet, among other issues.
Trent Jackson accused Jermaine and Rebbie Jackson of being responsible for Katherine filing for a restraining order. After the restraining order was filed, Rebbie and Jermaine took Katherine to London. and kept her from contacting any of the family members still in America - including MJ's kids and the other Jackson siblings. It was stated that this was so Katherine would not be subject to "outside influences" in the court case.
Two months later, Katherine returned to the US, flanked by Rebbie and Jermaine, who attempted to shield Katherine from sight and instantly took her to a relative's house, attempting to keep MJ's kids and other relatives from realizing that Katherine was back in the US.
The case went to court at the end of April, where all charges against Trent Jackson were thrown out.
And that's the most recent information on this saga that I can find!
What is your theory, ONTD? Was she kidnapped? Did she know what was going on the whole time? What's the deal with Trent?
sources
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
what do you think happened, ONTD? also would you be interested in more of these retrospectives?