By Ben Griffiths 9 Comments
Michael Jackson's kids are mine and a DNA test will prove it, says Brit star Mark Lester
5 May 2013 00:02
Oliver! actor who donated sperm to the superstar a year before singer's first child was born wants to see his three offspring
Brit actor Mark Lester has dramatically vowed to have DNA tests to prove he is the father of Michael Jackson’s three children, the Sunday People can reveal.
Former Oliver! child star Mark – godfather to all Jacko’s kids – believes there is a “good possibility” he is their biological dad.
The 54-year-old actor, who was Michael’s best pal for 30 years, donated sperm to the superstar a year before the singer’s first child was born.
Now Mark, who has not been allowed to see Prince Michael, 16, Paris, 15, and Blanket, 11, since their father’s death in June 2009, has sent them a message, saying: “I’m here, come and visit England, we’ll look after you.”
Speaking exclusively to the Sunday People, Mark said: “After Michael asked me to donate sperm for him I completely forgot about it.
“He was a great dad to them, brought them up and was brilliant with the kids so I just didn’t go there but there is obviously a good possibility (that I could be the biological father).
“I wouldn’t have a DNA test without the children’s permission but when the children come of age, and it’s not far away, and they decide they want me to do it then I will. It is up to them.
“I don’t want to tell them what to do. I just want to reconnect and be the godfather that Michael made me.”
In his first interview for almost four years, father-of-four Mark says the resemblance between his 18-year-old daughter Olivia and Jacko’s girl Paris is striking.
And young Prince Michael had an astonishing similarity to Mark when he was a child star. But Mark now feels “locked out” by the Jackson family following claims he is the dad. Dozens of his calls have gone unanswered.
Last month he was invited to Los Angeles by Jackson’s former manager Dieter Weisner only to discover it would not be possible to see the children. The kids are set to take the stand as witnesses in a £26billion lawsuit brought against concert promoter AEG Live.
The family claim the firm, which organised Jacko’s 50 farewell gigs planned for London’s O2 Arena, ignored health fears about the singer.
Mark says he would happily give evidence to defend his friend of 30 years. He said: “Michael was a great friend to me and I would defend his name in the court case if I have to.”
Mark, who shot to fame at the age of eight when he starred in the Lionel Bart film Oliver!, first met Jacko in 1978 at the Rainbow Theatre in Finsbury Park, North London, where the singer was performing with the Jackson 5.
The pair, then both 20, immediately hit it off, sharing burgers and soft drinks and chatting for over three hours.
When Michael flew back to America, they kept a long-distance friendship. The singer often phoned Mark at 3am for a chat because he couldn’t grasp the different time zones.
Mark said: “We ended up great friends. Michael had so many people and security around him but had very few people that knew him really closely. I became one of those lucky few.
“Michael lived in a bubble. He barely knew any famous person outside the music world.
“He was once introduced to tennis player Boris Becker in Germany and had no idea who he was.”
In 1991 Mark fathered his first child to first wife Jane. Just two years later another daughter Harriet was born and in 1995 he fathered his third daughter Olivia.
Just months later Jacko called Mark with an unusual request.
Mark said: “I remember Michael ringing and saying, ‘Oh, you don’t have any fertility difficulties do you?’. He was half joking so I joked, ‘Oh, I just look at her and she gets pregnant’.
“So then in a light-hearted way he said, ‘Will you help me out?’. Initially I thought he wanted me to do something with his ex-wife Debbie Rowe and I was thinking, ‘I don’t think so’.
“Then out of the blue about a year later, he mentioned sperm donation and I agreed.
“Michael set it up for me to turn up to a clinic in Harley Street, London to do it. It was weird.
“I went in a couple of times to donate but we never talked about it ever again.
“It was a really strange request but while Michael was alive I never gave it another thought. I didn’t donate to get something out of it.”
In February 1997, Jacko announced the birth of his first son with Debbie Rowe, Prince Michael.
Paris followed in 1998 and Prince Michael II, also known as Blanket, arrived in 2002.
As the children grew up, a paternity puzzle arose amid speculation Michael looked different to his three kids.
He and his family vehemently denied claims the children were not his.
Mark, who was made godfather by the superstar to all three kids in 2001, said: “While he was alive, I never ever thought the children were anyone else’s but Michael’s.”
Mark’s children, including son Felix, now 13, became close friends with Jacko’s kids and the two families became almost inseparable, spending school holidays and weekends together. Mark, now a trained osteopath living in Cheltenham, Gloucs, said: “Every time Michael came to the UK, which was at least six times a year, I used to take my children to see his.
“They always got on really well. Olivia and Harriet would play with Paris.
“We always used to stay at an isolated cottage at the Cliveden House hotel in Berkshire. I even took the kids to his home in the US. We were like one big happy family.”
Just three months after shakily announcing the AEG Live tour at the O2, Jacko, who was reported to be £100million in debt, was found dead at the age of 50 after overdosing on painkillers and tranquillisers.
His doctor Conrad Murray was later convicted of manslaughter and jailed for four years.
Mark said: “When I heard the news I was devastated. I never saw him take any drugs. I managed to get to America for his memorial service and that was the last time I saw the children.”
Two months after Jacko died, his friend Uri Geller mentioned to Mark that he could be the dad.
Mark, who claims he had never previously thought about it, said: “Then I noticed the likenesses in my own children and his.
“My daughter Olivia looks like Paris. People have also pointed out similarities between myself when I was younger and Prince.”
But after hearing the claims, the Jackson family stopped answering Mark’s calls.
He added: “I just feel it is really cruel that our relationship has just been cut off. It is not what Michael would have wanted.”
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Home 
