Michael Jackson’s son Bigi, 22, – formally known as Blanket – is seen on rare outing in LA amid legal estate drama
Bigi Jackson was seen for the first time after it was revealed that his father Michael Jackson was over $500 million in debt at the time of his death in 2009.
The 22-year-old youngest of three children – who is formally known as Blanket – enjoyed a casual outing in Calabasas on Tuesday morning.
Bigi, born via surrogate in 2002, was the baby Michael infamously dangled over a fourth-floor hotel balcony in Berlin to show him off to the fans below.
Now he has grown into a relatively private young man in comparison to his older siblings Prince, 27, and 26-year-old Paris.
He opted for a relaxed look in the form of a black graphic print T-Shirt, black NBA basketball shoes, and matching running shoes.
His long black hair was worn down in a middle part as he showcased a bit of scruff.
Just last week it was revealed that Bigi’s dad Michael owed money to more than 65 creditors when he died age 50 from cardiac arrest, according to court documents filed on Friday, June 21, per People.
The documents include a petition from estate executors seeking back pay from 2018, relating to the late singer’s now $2 billion estate.
The reimbursement includes ‘legal, negotiating and various other operating expenses’ over the last six years, according to the outlet.
The new petition comes after executors attorney John Branca asserted that Jackson’s estate was burdened with debt and nearly bankrupt at the time of his death in a March court filing.
The Thriller hitmaker had ‘more than half a dozen lawsuits pending worldwide’ and more than ’65 creditors’ claims were filed in the Estate spawning additional lawsuits, of which several resulted in litigation,’ the petition reads, per the outlet.
‘The Executors were able to renegotiate and restructure financing arrangements that existed at the time of Michael’s death, at substantially reduced interest rates, enabling the Estate to avoid the loss of any assets to the lenders and ultimately to satisfy the encumbrances that existed at the time of Michael’s death,’ the petition continues.
As stipulated by the agreement with Michael Jackson’s children, Paris, Prince, and Bigi, who are the beneficiaries of his estate, the probate court oversees the estate’s financial matters.
The new filing states that every six months, the attorneys managing the estate must seek court approval to receive 30% of their compensation, while they retain the remaining 70%.
From July 1 to Dec. 31, 2018, several firms collectively sought over $3.5 million in legal fees dating back six years through the petition.
‘Although the Executors have eliminated the Estate’s debt, have resolved virtually all of the creditors’ claims and litigation, and have successfully solidified the MJJ business as a significant entity in the music industry, there remain challenging business, tax and legal issues that the Executors and their counsel continue to deal with,’ the petition reads, per People.
The petition follows a peak in the Jackson family’s dispute over Michael’s $2 billion estate in March.
The aforementioned Bigi had prevented his grandmother, Katherine Jackson, 93, from using the family’s money to fight an ongoing legal battle.
According to a report from TMZ, the pair recently battled an undisclosed issue in court.
However, the news came just weeks after it was announced that Sony purchased part of Jackson’s back catalogue for $600 million.
A judge ruled against the grandmother and grandson with Blanket aka Bigi wanting to let the issue go while arguing that if Katherine wants to continue in court, she should use her million dollar allowance to pay legal fees, not the estate’s money.
When Jackson died, he left all of his money to his mother and his three children, Paris, Prince and Blanket.
Katherine was also entrusted as their legal guardian.
In the immediate aftermath of Jackson’s passing, his siblings raised issues about the will, accusing the executors of committing fraud and of manipulating their mother.
At the time, Katherine reportedly suffered a health issue and vanished from public view to the extent that a missing persons report was filed and steps were taken to move the children’s custody over to Tito Jackson.
Police in Los Angeles later confirmed that a ‘psychical altercation’ took place but didn’t go into details.
Katherine’s lawyer accused Jackson’s siblings of ‘[running] up to Michael’s children as they yelled and began to aggressively grab at the cellphones in their hands.’
Randy Jackson, no relation to the American Idol judge, confirmed in an interview that the family went to the home and were ‘kind of denied access.’
Michael Jackson’s estate: A timeline
2002: Michael Jackson signs a will that bequeaths his fortune to his mother, Katherine, and his three children, Prince, Paris and Blanket.
Katherine is also awarded custody.
2012: Katherine mysteriously goes missing for ten days and the children’s custody is handed over to a family member.
She reappears shortly after going missing as Jackson’s children accuse their aunts and uncles of lying about her disappearance.
Several of Jackson’s siblings sign a letter claiming the singer’s lawyers are frauds and that the 2002 will is fake.
The campaign never amounts to anything.
2017: Due to her advancing years, Katherine signs over custody of Blanket to his cousin, TJ.
2018: Allegations of a family feud remerge over who will pay for the funeral of patriarch Joe Jackson.
Janet ends up paying the bill.
The pair are thought to have been feuding even afterwards after Paris says she wasn’t invited to an awards ceremony honoring her aunt.
2024: Blanket ends a legal battle in which he was teamed up with his grandmother and tells her to use her own money if she wants to continue, not his father’s estate.
A day after that interview, Katherine said in a statement that she was fine and that there were no issues with the family.
However, Jackson’s son, Prince, later tweeted an alleged screenshot of a text conversation that involving their aunt Janet in which it seems as though Katherine was being prevented from talking to her grandchildren.
He went so far as to claim that his grandmother had been lied to.
‘Although I am happy my grandma was returned, after speaking with her I realized how misguided and how badly she was lied to. I’m really angry and hurt.
‘As long as I can remember my dad had warned me of certain people and their ways. For this whole time, they denied us contact to our grandmother. If you continue with your lies I will continue with the truth,’ he tweeted in 2012.
The same year, Randy Jackson alleged that the executors of his brother’s will, John Branca and John McClain, forged his brother’s signature on legal documents.
‘They know that they’ve been caught, they know that they’ve falsified a document and they know that there are questions that we want answered,’ Randy said in the same interview in which he said he had been denied access to his mother’s home.
Around this time, it emerged that Randy Jackson owed the mother of his two children $500,000 in child support. A judge in the case enforced the payment after he missed the court hearing.
Subsequently, Janet, Randy, Rebbie, Tito and Jermaine Jackson signed a letter alleging that Branca and McClain manipulated their mother after she suffered a small stroke.
The letter also claimed that Michael was in New York City on the day that the will was signed in Los Angeles.
In 2012, reports emerged that there had been a physical altercation at Katherine’s home when Jermaine, Randy and Janet Jackson all showed up and demanded to see their mother.
These claims have never been substantiated but remain the source of much speculation.
Michael Jackson Estate’s $750 million Sony deal
Earlier this month, Michael Jackson’s estate has agreed to sell its remaining stake in a lucrative music catalog to Sony Corp. for $750 million.
The sale does not include rights to Jackson’s master recordings or songs that he wrote, and the singer’s estate will continue to have a stake in EMI Publishing, Inc.
Jackson purchased the ATV portion of the catalog in 1985 for $41.5 million, and he later merged it with Sony.
It remained his most lucrative asset at the time of his death in June 2009 at age 50, though by that point Jackson was hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.
Paris Jackson and Katherine both denied those allegations. Jermaine also took his name off of the letter and called on his family to resolve their issues.
Despite the media headlines, nothing changed in regards to Michael’s will.
Branca and McClain strongly denied the allegations and stressed that they were concentrating on protecting the interests of Katherine Jackson and her grandchildren.
Jackson signed the will leaving the money to his children and mother as well as to several charities in 2002.
It would turn out to be the last will Jackson made, to Branca’s surprise and to the chagrin of much of the Jackson family, who were cut out of both Jackson’s money and control of his legacy.
Michael’s brothers and sisters were shocked when the regular cash handouts they had been receiving stopped after his death and they found the will made no provision for them.
Instead, 40 per cent of the net income goes to Katherine. Prince Michael, Paris, and Blanket, share a further 40 per cent. The remaining 20 per cent goes to his chosen charities.
Diana Ross was named as the guardian if Katherine could not fulfil the role, if that fell through, Tito Jackson would assume the role.
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Michael Jackson ’s son Blanket ‘Bigi’ Jackson, 22, has filed legal papers seeking to block his grandmother Katherine from using estate funds amid an extended legal battle with the estate executors. Pictured in October 2022 in Encino, California
In 2018, a brewing feud made headlines again when family patriarch Joe Jackson died at the age of 89. He and Katherine remained married in the later years but did not live together.
A family insider shared that the 89-year-old’s granddaughter Paris and daughter Janet have been arguing over who will pay for the arrangements, adding to the ‘bad blood’ that already exist between them.
‘Janet has said she’ll pay for it because she believes Paris paying for it would be an embarrassment to the family,’ the insider told Radar Online at the time.
‘Paris believes her grandpa is a legend and should be treated as such,’ the source said of the 20-year-old.
Meanwhile, the 52-year-old Janet ‘still had a terrible relationship with him, though it wasn’t shown in public,’ a different source added.
In 2019, Janet told The Times in an interview that she had made peace with her father prior to his death. Jackson once said in an interview that as children they would be beaten if they made mistakes during rehearsals during the Jackson 5 era.
The same year that Joe Jackson died, Janet was accused of a snub against her niece when Paris was not in attendance at the Billboard Music Awards where the Rhythm Nation singer was given a lifetime achievement award.
Katherine, Rebbie and Prince Jackson were all at the event. ‘No one from my mgmt [management] reached out to me about attending Billboards or about the award, and no one from my family did either,’ Paris wrote on social media when asked why she wasn’t there.
However, Paris later posted a photo showing her with her aunt with the caption: ‘Congrats auntie! You earned it.’
In 2022, Paris and Janet were pictured together at a Paris Fashion Week event. Janet posted a photo with a caption: ‘So good catching up with my beautiful niece @parisjackson.’
Paris replied with love hearts.
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Paris-Michael Katherine, LaToya Jackson, Jermaine Jackson and Prince Michael Jackson attend the Michael Jackson public memorial service held at Staples Center on July 7, 2009 in Los Angeles
A February 2024, ABC News feature declared that Katherine Jackson had a net worth of around $100 million. The same article said that Katherine gave her daughters LaToya and Rebbie a $37,000 per month allowance.
In 2017, Katherine transferred custody of Blanket, then the only minor child of the brood, to Tito’s son Tito Jr aka TJ.
A source told Mail on Sunday in 2012 that Jackson’s siblings were also angry at the ten percent his executors received as their fees.
Jackson left nearly $500 million in debt and a tarnished image despite the singer’s acquittal of child molestation charges in 2005. Through the end of 2016, the estate has grossed more than $1.3 billion.
The executors did it with moves that included selling Jackson’s stake in The Beatles and other song catalogs at a massive profit, renegotiating a titanic record deal with Sony, putting out three posthumous albums and creating a pair of hit shows with Cirque du Soleil.
Branca has a long history of making millions for musicians including Elvis Presley’s estate, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, The Doors and Aerosmith.
