Katherine Jackson has spent years carrying the weight of what could have been. In a rare and deeply personal interview, Michael’s mother opened up about the single biggest mistake of his career and the regret she still carries as the woman who raised him.
When asked about the biggest mistake Michael ever made, Katherine was quick to answer. It was not Michael’s mistake at all. It was his lawyers.
During the first accusation in 1993, Michael was in the middle of a world tour, stretched thin and far from home.
Katherine said she kept calling his security, warning them that the people making allegations were making the situation seem real and that Michael needed to come back and deal with it directly.
Katherine Jackson shares Michael’s Lawyer made a blunder
He never got that chance. His legal team advised him not to fight it. Michael told his mother he wanted to fight because they were lying about him, but his lawyers told him to settle instead.
That single decision, made without him fully understanding how serious it had become, followed him for the rest of his life.
THE SETTLEMENT WAS NEVER AN ADMISSION OF GUILT. BUT THE WORLD TREATED IT LIKE ONE.
When Katherine was asked for advice for mothers who want their children in showbiz, she was measured yet honest.
Let the child move at a slow pace. Make sure they have time to simply grow up.
The world is greedy, she said, and the moment people see talent in a child, they squeeze and squeeze because they know money can be made. It is the parents’ job to protect what the industry never will.
Watch Katherine Jackson speak in her own words
Katherine recalled Michael’s childhood and how, later in life, he told her he wished he had not missed so much of it. Katherine believes that if she had intervened, things would have been different.
He paid a high price for the life he lived. She just wishes someone had fought harder to protect him before the cost became too great.