Ten days after Michael Jackson died, Debbie Rowe said "hell, no" to raising the two children she had with the music superstar, a "close friend" has claimed.
Rowe made the comments in emails said to have been written by her to Rebecca White.
The messages, which were published today by US entertainment show ExtraTV, suggest Rowe was unsure of what to do about her two biological children, 12-year-old Prince Michael Jackson and 11-year-old Paris Jackson.
"My lawyer is telling me I have to take some responsibility about the welfare of the children," Rowe wrote on July 5.
"Do I want the kids? Hell, no."
"Does it look good for me to ask for them? Absolutely. I don't want to look like the woman who gave away her kids and just forgot about them," she said.
Three days earlier in another email, Rowe, who was married to Jackson between 1996 and 1999, told White she would not be seeking custody.
"These kids are not mine. They were never mine. They were always Michael's. I was Michael's best friend."
Rowe did eventually file for custody, however a report in today's New York Post said the former nurse had since accepted a multi-million-dollar payout in exchange for dropping her claim to the children.
The report has since been denied by her lawyer, Eric George, who wrote a scathing letter to the newspaper. The letter has been published on US celebrity website TMZ.com.
"Among the several contenders for overzealous and inaccurate sensationalism, the New York Post has now seized top honours," Mr George wrote.
"Ms Rowe has not accepted — and will not accept — any additional financial consideration beyond the spousal support she and Michael Jackson personally agreed to several years ago."
Front page
RSS Feed