Jacko's Doc: I'm Not the Dad to "Best of My Knowledge"
Dermatologist hedges on paternity denial
WireImage
"To the best of my knowledge, I'm not the father," Dr. Arnold Klein said today.
Michael Jackson's dermatologist hedged on reports that he is the biological father of the singer's two children -- issuing a carefully worded denial that he is the young kids' real dad.
"To the best of my knowledge, I'm not the father," Dr. Arnold Klein said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "I can't answer it in any other way. I don't want to feed any of this insanity that is going around."
The celebrity skin doctor who treated the singer on and off for 25 years was reported to be the biological father of Jackson's son, Prince Michael, 12, and daughter, Paris, 11.
Klein fathered the two children with Debbie Rowe -- Jackson's wife of three years -- who worked as an assistant in his dermatology clinic, Usmagazine.com reported.
The doctor's remarks today were the first since Jackson's stunning June 25 death. But his comments did little to clarify questions swirling around the children's paternity.
The custody of Jackson's three children remains unclear. The singer wrote in a 2002 will that he wants his children to be cared for by his mother, Katherine, but Rowe has indicated she may seek custody.
The identity of the surrogate mother of 7-year-old Prince Michael II is unknown.
In the interview today, Klein also said the 50-year-old singer appeared to be in good health before he died. The King of Pop even danced in the doctor's office just three days before his death.
"He was not in terrible pain," Klein said. "He danced in the office. He danced for my patients. He was very muscular and he was very, very happy and dancing."
The skin doctor said he always asked Jackson what medication he was taking but "it doesn't always mean the patient is going to tell you the absolute truth. ... I did not know that he was being treated by a ny physician other than myself."
He also denied reports that he had prescribed him with powerful sedative Diprivan.
"How am I going to prescribe Diprivan when I don't know how to use it?" Klein said.
Posted Thursday, Jul 16, 2009 - 8:33 PM CST
