Michael Jackson’s skin doctor was more than just a father figure to the star’s kids — he also allegedly sired two of them.
Celebrity dermatologist Arnold Klein yesterday was identified as the sperm donor for Jackson’s son Prince Michael, 12, and daughter, Paris Michael, 11.
The doctor’s office assistant, Debbie Rowe, was the surrogate mom.
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Klein’s baby-daddy status “was common knowledge and what was assumed by people in Michael’s inner circle,” former Jackson publicist Stuart Backerman told The Post. “It didn’t really . . . factor into who was raising the children.”
Us magazine outed Klein — a well-respected doctor and founding member of AIDS charity amfAR — as the father.
“He is the dad. He and Debbie signed an agreement saying they would never reveal the truth,” a source told the mag.
Jackson, 50, died Thursday under mysterious circumstances at his rented LA mansion, reportedly emaciated and covered in needle marks.
The results of a second autopsy, performed at his family’s request, showed his body bore “a number of unique and significant marks and injuries,” his lawyer, Brian Oxman, told Britain’s The Sun in today’s editions. Jackson was known to have a host of physical ailments, including vitiligo, which causes skin discoloration, and “Michael had a very distinct pattern of vitiligo scars on his chest . . . in a leopard pattern,” Oxman said.
Meanwhile, the LAPD wants to talk to Klein about drugs he may have prescribed or administered to Jackson, according to TMZ.com.
Joanne Clark — a Los Angeles neighbor and former patient of Klein’s who has known him for years — told The Post she wasn’t surprised to hear he might be Jackson’s kids’ dad.
The “quiet, private” dermatologist always showed a keen interest in the lives of Jackson’s children, she said.
Jackson, Rowe and the children often visited with Klein, she said, and the doctor frequently bought the kids gifts.
A lawyer for Klein issued a statement saying that “because of patient confidentiality,” his client “will make no statement on any reports or allegations.”
Rowe has issued a statement confirming she is the kids’ biological mom.
As for his youngest son, Prince Michael II, Jacko wasn’t his biological father, either, TMZ reported.
The little boy was born in-vitro using donor sperm and to a surrogate who was never told that the “receiving parent” was Jackson, the site said.
A copy of the child’s birth certificate shows a blank space in the spot designated for the mother’s name. Jackson is listed as the father on the boy’s birth certificate, as well as on those of his two older siblings.
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According to TMZ, Jackson never formally adopted his kids.
Legal experts yesterday told The Post a legal adoption wasn’t required. Jackson and Rowe were married — at least when the two eldest were born — and there was a presumption they were the parents.
It’s unclear if any of the paternity issues will become legal headaches — particularly regarding Jackson’s finances.
Financial records show that Jacko had a net worth of $237 million in 2007, with more than that eaten up by a mountain of debt.
His family yesterday acknowledged that he had a will, and sources said he left the bulk of his estate to his mom, Katherine, his kids and various charities, while leaving nothing to his father, Joe. The will also named Katherine the kids’ guardian.
Lawyer John Branca produced the July 2002 will, and is a co-executor, along with John McClain, a record executive.
It puts all of the singer’s assets into a trust fund, sources said.
L. Londell McMillan, a lawyer for Katherine and Joe Jackson, told the Los Angeles Times he was “reviewing” the will.
” We did not see it prior to the filing. We wish we had known about it earlier,” he said.
A source told the paper that Branca stopped representing Jackson in 2006, but the singer signed a letter retaining him again eight days before he died.
Jackson’s death has prompted a slew of tributes, including one yesterday at New York’s City Council, which had a moment of silence.
But it wasn’t without controversy — five members left in protest.
“Based on the credible allegations against this man and his own admissions of his conduct with young boys, I chose not to be part of the moment of silence,” said Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens).
With Post Wire Services and Sally Goldenberg in NY and Tori Richards in LA