# Why are Michael Jackson's kids white? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 1, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201 "2010-02-01T03:49:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/1 "2010-02-01T03:49:47Z")
Coming from a black family…shouldn’t his kids be black too? I know the baby mama’s are white, which does make a (small) difference, but they are as white as can be. How come? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/2 "2010-02-01T03:53:47Z")
How do we know he’s the biological father? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/3 "2010-02-01T03:54:32Z")
Roll of the genetic dice. ---
**Author:** ![MitzeKatze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@MitzeKatze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MitzeKatze)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/4 "2010-02-01T03:55:00Z")
Donor sperm? That was my understanding at least. And even though they are very white (compared to a young Michael Jackson) Paris at least, does appear to possibly be biracial to my eyes. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/5 "2010-02-01T03:55:05Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Coming from a black family…shouldn’t his kids be black too? I know the baby mama’s are white, which does make a (small) difference, but they are as white as can be. How come? Because Jackson used a white sperm donor to impregnate the white birth mother. ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/6 "2010-02-01T03:55:43Z")
I don’t think Prince and Paris are biologically his. Blanket I think is. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/7 "2010-02-01T13:49:27Z")
The biological descent of Jackson’s children has never been conclusively established in the press, although it’s known that Jackson himself was not the biological father of any of his children.\* Jackson’s ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, gave birth to Prince and Paris. The gossip rags have reported that the biological father was her former employer, Jackson dermatologist Arnold Klein. They’ve also reported that Rowe was only a surrogate, and is not the children’s biological mother. Who knows what, if any, of these stories are true. She’s sued them for defamation, but even if she loses, that’s no guarantee of the accuracy of the reports. Blanket’s biological parentage has never been reported. Rowe is not his mother, but that’s all that’s known. None of this, of course, affects the fact that Jackson was the children’s “real” father – whatever that word means, he was it. –Cliffy - There are rumors that Jackson is the biological father of Omer Bhatti, one of the children in Jackson’s entourage during the '90’s. Bhatti denies this, saying his family only met Jackson when he was already 12 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Tanaqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Tanaqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanaqui)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/8 "2010-02-01T14:03:26Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Coming from a black family…shouldn’t his kids be black too? I know the baby mama’s are white, which does make a (small) difference, but they are as white as can be. How come? If two people of different races have a child, it’s not like blending blue and red paint together. You are not necessarily going to come out with someone purple. Living in Japan, I have many friends who are half Japanese and half caucasian. Some of them are green eyed and blond, some of them are black-haired and dark-eyed, indistinguishable from other Japanese people. Some of them are a mix of different characteristics. It even varies within families. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/9 "2010-02-01T14:29:38Z")
> [@Tanaqui](#): > > If two people of different races have a child, it’s not like blending blue and red paint together. You are not necessarily going to come out with someone purple. Living in Japan, I have many friends who are half Japanese and half caucasian. Some of them are green eyed and blond, some of them are black-haired and dark-eyed, indistinguishable from other Japanese people. Some of them are a mix of different characteristics. It even varies within families. I lived on the Navajo reservation for a brief time in my adolescence. Two of my friends were bi-racial, Navajo mother and White father. The older brother looked completely white; wavy, light brown hair, light brown eyes, slim face and build. the younger brother looked completely Navajo; straight black hair, dark brown eyes, brown skin, square face, stocky build. ---
**Author:** ![BKReporter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@BKReporter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BKReporter)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/10 "2010-02-01T14:42:28Z")
The son, IMO, bears a striking resemblance to Arnold Klein. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/11 "2010-02-01T14:52:24Z")
Further anecdata: I once knew a sister and brother, with Sri Lankan father and English mother. The brother had very dark skin, and definitely looked South Asian; the sister had much lighter skin, and I thought she was Italian, or something like that, when we first met. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/12 "2010-02-01T17:15:12Z")
I thought it was funny when I heard some morning DJ this morning commmenting on seeing the kids at the Grammys. “Did you hear that Prince Michael talk? He’s got an amazing voice, just like his fathers.” ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/13 "2010-02-01T17:21:26Z")
My friend is half Chinese but doesn’t really look it. She married a man with blond hair and blue eyes. They have twins. One twin looks totally Chinese with black shiny hair and almond dark eyes. The other twin resembles his father in that he has blond hair and blue eyes. I think it’s kind of funny, but she says a lot of people don’t believe that they are actually twins. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/14 "2010-02-01T17:26:09Z")
Mark Lester, British child star best known for Oliver! (pics [then](http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Media/Pix/pictures/2008/12/09/Oliver460.jpg) and [nowish](http://image.take40.com/300x400/mark_lester_300x400.jpg)) and a friend of Jackson’s for years, says that Jackson asked him for vials of sperm at one point and stated he thinks he may be on of the bio-dads. No idea if any testing was done, but tabloids printed pics of Lester’s children next to Jackson’s children (here’s one of [Paris and Lester’s daughter](http://www.hollywoodcelebgossips.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/michael-jackson-daughter-paris-jackson-and-harriet-lester-photo.jpg)). Like many (most?) child stars Lester had problems with substance abuse and the like, but he apparently exorcised them. He’s not pathetic ala Corey Haim or [other child star here] but left the biz/went to school/became a chiropracter/no major troubles with the law or eating bugs on TV or anything, so he’s probably telling the truth about the sperm. Whether any of the kids are his wouldn’t surprise me either way. Jackson himself was a pathological liar who seemed to truly believe that if he said it then it was true and the family is devoted to his legacy and getting his estate sorted out in self interest, so I don’t believe anything they say that’s not documented. I’m not sitting on a high horse and disdaining the American pop culture fixation because I like weird celebrity gossip as much as most, but ultimately it’s nobody’s business who the biological father is so I hope that they don’t make it known. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/15 "2010-02-01T17:29:41Z")
My three Asian-Caucasian children run the gamut of skin colors from Anglo-Saxon white to Mediterranean dark to Asian yellow-brown. It’s a genetic roll of the dice. Ask me about their eye folds. ---
**Author:** ![Kelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a587f6/32.png) [@Kelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelby)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/16 "2010-02-01T17:32:12Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Mark Lester, British child star best known for Oliver! (pics [then](http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Media/Pix/pictures/2008/12/09/Oliver460.jpg) and [nowish](http://image.take40.com/300x400/mark_lester_300x400.jpg)) and a friend of Jackson’s for years, says that Jackson asked him for vials of sperm at one point and stated he thinks he may be on of the bio-dads. No idea if any testing was done, but tabloids printed pics of Lester’s children next to Jackson’s children (here’s one of [Paris and Lester’s daughter](http://www.hollywoodcelebgossips.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/michael-jackson-daughter-paris-jackson-and-harriet-lester-photo.jpg)). > Like many (most?) child stars Lester had problems with substance abuse and the like, but he apparently exorcised them. He’s not pathetic ala Corey Haim or [other child star here] but left the biz/went to school/became a chiropracter/no major troubles with the law or eating bugs on TV or anything, so he’s probably telling the truth about the sperm. Whether any of the kids are his wouldn’t surprise me either way. > > Jackson himself was a pathological liar who seemed to truly believe that if he said it then it was true and the family is devoted to his legacy and getting his estate sorted out in self interest, so I don’t believe anything they say that’s not documented. I’m not sitting on a high horse and disdaining the American pop culture fixation because I like weird celebrity gossip as much as most, but ultimately it’s nobody’s business who the biological father is so I hope that they don’t make it known. Since Jackson evidently had body dysmorphic disorder, isn’t is likely, given the appearance of these children, that he chose a sperm donor because he didn’t want the children to resemble him? Bizarre, I know, but so was he. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/17 "2010-02-01T17:41:12Z")
The [Jackson kids](http://www.paris-michael-katherine-jackson.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/paris_jackson_prince_michael.jpg) remind me of [Perri](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/06/04/article-0-05321E1C000005DC-954_468x684.jpg), the kid acrobat with the wild fro from the [Diversity](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_R6Uc-e6Ip8A/SwQGF7qtpDI/AAAAAAAAAFI/Q1YT1vZaYs8/s1600/Diversity-winners-of-Brit-001.jpg) dance troupe who [fell on his head](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPZkTTrEwiM)at 10 Downing earlier this year. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/18 "2010-02-01T17:43:24Z")
One might also speculate about why Prince Harry has [red hair](http://njmg.typepad.com/ervolino/images/2008/03/02/prince_harry_james_hewitt_20050413.jpg). > [@kunilou](#): > > Ask me about their eye folds. Tell me about their eye folds. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/19 "2010-02-01T17:44:48Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > (here’s one of [Paris and Lester’s daughter](http://www.hollywoodcelebgossips.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/michael-jackson-daughter-paris-jackson-and-harriet-lester-photo.jpg)). Link doesn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201/20 "2010-02-01T17:49:03Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Link doesn’t work. [Here’s a google images results page.](http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&um=1&sa=1&q=mark+lester+michael+jackson+&aq=f&oq=&aqi=&start=0) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-michael-jacksons-kids-white/527201.md?page=2)