Post by Taxigirl on Dec 12, 2003 10:32:12 GMT
Singer Michael Jackson's parents have said their son is innocent of child abuse allegations and they will adopt his children if he loses custody.
Joe and Katherine Jackson tell interviewers prosecutors are trying to "humiliate" their son.
The singer, 45, is awaiting charges after being released on $3m bail.
"We're not going to let nobody take those kids," Joe Jackson told the show Our Son Michael Jackson, to be shown shortly in the US and the UK.
Michael Jackson has strenuously denied the allegations, calling them a "big lie".
He has two children, Prince Michael I, six, and Paris, five, from his three-year marriage to Debbie Rowe, and the mother of his third child, Prince Michael II, born in 2002, has never been made public.
Mrs Jackson said the allegations were "wicked", adding there would be a "big mess" if her son's children were taken away from him.
"I don't want to think that, because that would be really mean - just take his children from him like that for nothing. It's not right," she said.
She also said she found out about the allegations against her son on her way to Bible study class.
"I just sat down and said 'not again'," she said.
"Michael said: 'Mother, don't worry, it's not the truth.' But I told him: 'You don't know these wicked people - they'll tarnish your reputation and people will always remember you the way they said he was, not the way he really is.
The couple, who have nine children, said the allegations were motivated by money, and their son was misunderstood and "loves children".
Mrs Jackson said when her son was a teenager he had said seen footage of poor, unwell children, he said: "One day I'm going to do something about this. I know I can't heal the world, but I can help."
Her husband told the programme their son had "helped so many people - grown people and kids. And he gives to all kind of charities and things".
Mrs Jackson added that she did not want her grandchildren to go into the music industry "if it's going to cause them as much pain as it's caused Michael".
Michael Jackson who was arrested, cited and released after surrendering to police on 20 November, is due to appear in court on 9 January to hear formal charges, the details of which have not been made public.
Prosecutors and police said on Wednesday that a leaked memo clearing the singer of previous child abuse allegations would not affect current legal action.
The singer has had international hits with the albums Thriller (1982), Bad (1987) and Dangerous (1991), but his career had subsequently waned.
However, his latest single, One More Chance, is at number 21 in the UK singles chart. It is taken from Number Ones, currently at number three in the album chart.
It debuted in the UK album chart at number one, while One More Chance entered at number five.