The Jackson family is ready to give peace a chance.
Last week, Katherine Jackson temporarily lost custody of her grandchildren Prince, Paris and Blanket to T.J. Jackson (Tito's son and Michael's nephew). Katherine, 82, was "devastated," but not for long: Katherine's attorney, Perry Sanders, tells E! News that on Thursday, paperwork will be filed naming T.J. and Katherine joint guardians.
But the drama doesn't end there.
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Earlier this week, Janet, Randy and Jermaine Jackson were barred from their mother Katherine's Calabassas, Calif., home. T.J.'s lawyer, Charles Shultz, confirmed to E! News that a letter had been given to security making it clear that none of the family members involved in an incident on July 23 would be allowed into Katherine's home.
On Wednesday, Jermaine issued a statement about the touchy situation, saying, "Enough has become enough."
"Yesterday, I had a phone call with my son Jaafar that broke my heart. He asked, 'Is it true that we cannot visit grandmother's house as a family anymore?'" Jermaine said. "After much soul-searching, it is clearly time for us to live by Michael's words about love not war. In this spirit, I offer this statement by way of extending an olive-branch. Accordingly, I rescind my signature from the letter which was sent to the estate, and which should never have gone public." On July 17, Janet, Jermaine, Rebbie, Tito and Randy fired off an angry letter to the two men overseeing Michael's estate. There has been speculation the reason for this was to invalidate their late brother's will, which provides an $86,000 a month allowance to the guardian of Michael's children. Tito has since retracted his signature from the letter.
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Jermaine still holds "deep reservations about many issues involved the estate" and "will continue to bring scrutiny and a resolute voice wherever we have cause for concern."
He points out, however, that "the way to address such matters is through the proper channels and via a private dialogue, not public conflict."
"Whatever the tabloid and online misrepresentations have led people to believe, my primary concern has only ever been rooted in the welfare of our mother in the environment where she lives," he says. "No one outside has a clue about the stresses and pressures she has been under long before recent events and I, like everyone in the family, adore the ground she walks on."
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Jermaine goes on to deny there was ever "a malicious attempt to 'block' the kids from talking" with Katherine when she was in Arizona. He says the family was simply "worried a call home would first entail, or lead to, conversations with individuals we are in dispute with and that would, therefore, increase pressure on Motherâ€"and pressure was what a doctor said she didn't need."
"Mistakes have been made and irrational things have been said on both sides in a highly-charged emotional environment," he adds. "It is time for us all to draw a line in the same and move towards peace, cooperation, love and healing. I truly hope that we can find it in our heats to do so. Because above and beyond anything else, what matters…is family."
Let's hope for the kids' sake everyone can keep it civil.
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