The Debbie Rowe Row: Michael Jackson's family 'deeply upset' by ex-wife's confession
Michael Jackson's family is reportedly “dumbfounded” after his ex-wife Debbie Rowe said she feels partly responsible for his death. Rowe, 63, said in a new documentary that she could have done more when the doctor she worked for as a nurse got the 'King of pop' hooked to painkillers, revealed The Sun.
According to insiders, Jackson's mother Katherine, 92, and brother Randy, 66, are "bewildered" about Rowe speaking up all these years later. Back then, Rowe worked as a nurse with late dermatologist Dr Arnold Klein. Rowe was also a surrogate mother to Jackson's children — Prince, 25, and Paris, 24.
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Rowe recently confessed that she “sucked as a human being” for not doing anything to stop Klein from dishing out prescription drugs to patients. Rowe made the confession on Fox TV show 'TMZ Investigates: Who Really Killed Michael Jackson'. "I was basically as bad as him (Klein). I regret that. I will regret it. And I am so sorry that I participated in it," Rowe said in the TV special while holding back tears.
A Jackson family friend reacted to the belated confession, saying, according to The Sun, "Debbie's decision to speak to this show about what she knew about Dr Klein, given Michael’s addiction issues, has dumbfounded some of the older Jackson family members and Michael's long term aides. Debbie has not been this open with some of the brothers for sure, so for her to speak on a TV show is bewildering. Everyone is talking about the trailers and media coverage, baffled at why she would speak on these subjects, especially given how sensitive it is in family circles."
"The feeling always was that Debbie was there to help Michael as his nurse," the friend continued. "Now her comments have made some of them look at her in a different way. It is strange to appear on a show called 'Who Killed Michael Jackson' talking about Klein and admitting she should have stopped his way of dealing with clients. It has deeply upset them. Katherine is very upset. She and her aides cannot understand why Debbie has decided after all these years to break her silence on that part of her life."
The source added, "It's no secret that there are strains between Debbie and some of Michael's brothers. But this brought many emotions and concerns about Michael's interactions with Klein back up again. While Debbie told producers she would not talk about Michael on the show specifically, it seems extraordinary to mention that Klein's treatment was to blame for some patients’ deaths. It is very shocking and upsetting.”
Jackson died of a cardiac arrest in June 2009 in Los Angeles. His doctor Conrad Murray was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter for providing the dose of propofol that resulted in his death. In the documentary, LAPD detective Orlando Martinez claimed it was “a lot more complicated than just Dr Murray” and that there were other doctors who had contributed to Jackson's tragic death. “There are a lot of folks who are to blame that have never had a reckoning for his death," Martinez said.