LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jermaine Jackson called Wednesday for an end to the public feud that has embroiled his family for more than a week, saying issues over the care of his mother and with late brother Michael's estate should be handled privately.
Jackson wrote in a statement first released to The Associated Press that he regrets the public turmoil that resulted from his mother Katherine's 10-day trip to an Arizona spa. The trip sparked a missing person's report and a driveway confrontation between relatives at the home of Katherine Jackson before a judge stripped her of guardianship duties.
"Mistakes have been made and irrational things have been said on both sides in a highly charged emotional environment," Jermaine Jackson wrote. "It is time for us all to draw a line in the sand and move towards peace, co-operation, love and healing."
The Jackson family is still raw from the death of the pop superstar three years ago, Jermaine Jackson wrote, and his mother has endured incredible stress and pressures since then.
He said he remains concerned about his brother's estate but is dropping support for a letter leaked two weeks ago that called on executors of the estate to resign.
Jackson said his statement was prompted after his son asked if he could no longer visit Katherine Jackson at her suburban Calabasas home.
"After much soul-searching, it is clearly time for us to live by Michael's words about love not war," Jackson wrote.
At the request of TJ Jackson, temporary guardian of Michael's children, the estate has acknowledged it has blocked certain relatives from visiting the home. The relatives were not named.
Attorneys are still trying to untangle some of the issues that the family dispute has created. Katherine Jackson's attorney Perry Sanders Jr. said attorneys will return to court Thursday to present an agreement to restore his client as a guardian.
The agreement would also call for TJ Jackson to remain a co-guardian, with control over the staff and day-to-day operations of the home where Katherine Jackson and her grandchildren Prince, Paris and Blanket currently live.
