In an article published by USA Today, it was confirmed (at least until the family’s hearing scheduled for Aug. 3) that M.J.’s mother, Katherine, will care for the kids, since it appears that Jackson departed without a valid will.

What I’m wondering, and I’m sure you all are too, is where in the world is Ms. Debbie Rowe, Jackson’s strange (rather than estranged) ex-wife in all this? She is, in fact, the mother of the oldest of Jackson’s children.

As quoted from the article in USA Today, Joe Jackson, Michael’s father, said at a news conference earlier this week that the children should remain with the Jackson family. “We love these kids,” Papa Jackson said. “We’re going to take care of them and give them the education they are supposed to have.”

Makes you wonder what kind of education they had prior. Moonwalking 101, perhaps? Maybe Pop, Lock and Gyrate 1000?

As an adoring, gawking and/or just completely bewildered public, we may never really know.

Something that is known about Rowe, however, is her sudden readiness to drop interviews with anyone who will listen. This is coming from a woman who just five minutes ago (so it feels) was the epitome of blanketed (no pun intended) secrecy and shrouded privacy. Now that the pop king is dead, Rowe blasts her way through the barricades of her silence.

Well, at least it’s given the media something else to chew on for a while…like the toughest piece of meat on the cow.

The latest spit Rowe’s spat is about how Jackson is not the biological father of M.J. Jr. and Paris. She also made sure to mention in the same interview, one given to a British tabloid called News of the World, that her marriage to Jackson was a “sham.”

According to The Age, Rowe was quoted as saying, “I was just the vessel. It wasn’t Michael’s sperm. I got paid for it, and I’ve moved on.”

I sure hope Rowe wasn’t going for any kind of shock factor with the information she ‘divulged’ in any of her interviews. It’s not like any of us didn’t surmise any of this information on our own anyway. Just look at the Jackson children for God’s sake. Their skin is as white as provolone cheese. No (alleged) skin disease takes away the power of genetic traits passed on from a father to a child. I don’t care how powerful Mommy Rowe’s genes are, however bull dyke, ahem, dominant they may be.

Sorry, M.J.

Now we can all wait and wonder if Rowe will claim the children and fight for custody. Being the biological mother to the two oldest of the little Jackson troupe, it’s reasonable that if she did decide to challenge it, she would win.

And Poor Prince Michael II. His mommy’s still yet to be identified in public.

Ooh, I have an idea. Maybe they can all camp out at the Neverland Ranch and ride the Ferris wheel and tea cups and eat cotton candy until this all blows over. (Don’t forget that reality is a little different in the Jackson world.)

What a Jackson mess.

June 22, 2009 is a day that will go down in TLC infamy.  It is the day its cash cow (and the only show that people really tuned in to watch instead of accidentally stumbling upon something interesting during a boring night) may have started its trek toward a fiery demise.

Jon and Kate Gosselin filed for divorce in the Bucks County Courthouse, creating a gossip columnist’s wet dream for the next few days.  The stories that have flooded the news about this couple have ranged from various bouts of infidelity with teachers and bodyguards, attending events separately to being extremely hostile toward one another (exactly what the show had displayed in body language as their relationship deteriorated).

Congratulations to the tabloids for beating the story into the ground, getting exactly what was needed to keep any semblance of interest in what is just another celebrity divorce (that TLC is sure to cover in all its glory for the remainder of the season).

The question remains, however, would this relationship and the lives of their eight children have been different had the media not tried to report on every lunch trip, grocery stop, gas fill-up, ice cream outing, beach vacation and baby burp?  Granted, they would not have had the money to live comfortable lives and the kids probably wouldn’t have had the same luxuries and experiences that were paid for by TLC in filming the show.  One could argue that their lives were better with everything they have done the last five years as examples.

Then again, how many kids would think taking a trip to Disney World is better than having parents to go home to until you’re ready to move off on your own?

Would the scandals have happened at all had TLC not put pressure on the couple to act and perform as they needed them to for ratings, forcing them to seek comfort in something other than what they did for work?

Could they have forgiven each other and worked beyond the problems of late if the media hadn’t ripped the closet door open to their private lives and threw the skeletons into the streets for all to view?

It’s a lot of speculation, as entertainment often is, but it brings up a good question that should be thought of before the Octo-mom gets her big break and a shot at ruining some more multiples’ lives.  What kind of backlash will TLC receive from the public for its big show failing, possibly putting these children in a child labor law violation and essentially collapsing a family that’s already got its work cut out for it without having a divorce and court separation to contend with?

Jon and Kate Gosselin were received warmly because of their marriage and support of the kids.  We can see by how the media treated the Octo-mom, with her just-over-poverty living status, owning more children than crazy cat ladies have feline companions, single and without a job.

Was signing Jon and Kate worth it?  Probably for the bottom line on the balance sheet over the last few years, but with everything that has happened recently, would they do it again with public opinion so very different now than it was five years ago?

Will Eyeworks regret signing a deal with the human baby factory?  Only time will tell.