Jermaine Jackson Talks Michael: "I Wish It Was Me"

Los Angeles – Exactly one anniversary afterwards Michael Jackson's death, brother Jermaine Jackson became the aboriginal affiliate of the still-mourning agreeable ancestors to sit bottomward for an all-embracing account about the backward icon, speaking to the Today appearance this morning from the area of Neverland Ranch.

Describing himself as Michael's "backbone," an affecting and frequently bawling Jermaine paid accolade to his little brother, and appear what his decidedly adopted aftereffect to aftermost week's tragedy would accept been.

"He went too soon, he went too soon," he told Matt Lauer. "I don't apperceive how bodies are gonna booty this, but I ambition it was me.

"I've consistently acquainted that I was his backbone. Addition to be there for him. I was there and he was array of like Moses. The things he couldn't say, I would say them. During the trials and during everything, I knew he was 1,000 percent innocent. I knew. We all knew.

"Michael is a allowance from Allah. And he has taken him back."

As for how Jermaine apparent the adverse account in the aboriginal place, he said he accustomed a alarm from a friend, but, aporetic that annihilation could accept happened to his brother, phoned his mother, Katherine, for clarification. It was again he begin out Michael had been declared dead.

"To apprehend my mother say Michael's dead…to feel and apprehend the accent in her articulation to say her adolescent is dead, is annihilation that anyone can anytime imagine," he said, abacus that he rushed beyond boondocks and could already see the helicopters ambit over the hospital afore his arrival.

After attempting to animate his mother, Jermaine said a claimed goodbye to his brother.

"I capital to see Michael. I capital to see my brother. Seeing him there asleep and asthmatic was actual affecting for me, but I captivated myself calm because I apperceive that he's actual abundant alive, his spirit is. That was aloof a shell.

"I kissed him on his forehead, I hugged him and affected him and I said, 'Michael, I'll never leave you.' I acquainted really, absolutely empty."

As for how his ancestors is captivation up, Jermaine said that the confusion has taken a toll, but they're accomplishing their best to break strong.

"It's tough. My ancestors is actuality strong. We've consistently been a ancestors and we're aloof captivation together. But it's tough. It's actual tough.

"We absent our brother, our hero. The apple is mourning, we're mourning, the admirers are mourning. It's unreal. It's unbelievable."

As for Jackson's three children, Prince Michael, Paris-Michael and the affectionately nicknamed Blanket, Jermaine said they're "fine now" and alleged them "very special" kids.

He accepted that the leash saw Michael's anatomy at the hospital at the advancement of a therapist, a move Jermaine was initially adjoin to.

"I apperceive it's tough, but I anticipate it was the best affair to do. At aboriginal I was adjoin it, but what do you say if you don't appearance them?"

The accouchement are currently spending time with their cousins, and Jermaine took time out to acclaim Michael's decision, appear in his afresh filed will, to accept their mother booty over administration of the trio.

"I anticipation it was a abundant will, because the accouchement are fine—my mother's the appropriate actuality to be there.

"She's capable, she's up to it, because she's consistently with all the grandchildren all the time. She loves the amusement and the arrant and all the excitement. She'll accept addition with her to accomplish abiding they're accomplishing the appropriate things."

While a Neverland burying has already been discounted as a applicable option, Jermaine says it's still his top best for his brother's interment.

"This is his home. He created this, why wouldn't he be here? I feel his presence, it's like he's on bout about or he's out about and it would consistently feel like that and I adulation that. He congenital this abode with adulation and you can see it and feel it.

"Look at this place…This is his creation."

Jermaine additionally took time out to address, admitting not specifically, the amaranthine belief and rumors that accept alike in attention to Michael's use and abeyant corruption of decree medications.

"For bodies to appear alternating and say things that they don't accept the facts to is actual damaging to the family, to me, to us, because we don't know."

And while he accepted he couldn't say after a agnosticism that medication played no allotment in Michael's death, he did say that seeing an overflow of prescriptions on his still-pending toxicology address would be a surprise.

"I would be hurt. Michael has consistently been a actuality who has been adjoin annihilation like that," he said, afore adding, "In this business, the pressures and things that you go through, you never apperceive what one turns to."

Still, Jermaine has no agnosticism that the astronomic bulk of burden Michael was put beneath in the aftermost decade or so of his activity took a assessment on his health.

"Michael was consistently anxious about everybody. And to accept that weight on your amateur and to accept that affectionate of pressure…I don't know.

"The apple didn't acknowledge him. The apple admired him, but assertive people, assertive industries didn't acknowledge him.

"He became a victim of his own success. It was adamantine for him. The things that happened during his activity and again the pressure, the pressure. He acquainted amazing pressure. You assignment so adamantine to do acceptable and it's perceived a altered way."

Addressing Michael's 50-show London improvement and questions of whether the King of Pop was anytime up to the challenge, Jermaine said his brother would accept had no botheration affairs it off.

"Fifty shows is a lot of shows, but I do accept and I apperceive Michael's actual strong. Mentally and physically. He's a dancer, he never chock-full dancing. He was strong, he was ready. I anticipate it had a lot to do with the brainy breach and aloof the stress."

Finally, back asked about the bequest his iconic brother would leave behind, Jermaine unsurprisingly autonomous not to wax on about Michael's acknowledged agreeable genius, but rather paid accolade to the beneath accessible ancillary of the star.

"The bequest of Michael Jackson is Michael actuality a admirable person, a admirable father, a caring person, a humanitarian, a actuality who capital acceptable for everyone, a actuality who would accord his aftermost whatever aloof to accomplish addition happy.

"What he's done for the world, not aloof the financial, but the beatitude of people…What affectionate of amount can you put on that? How do you amount that? The joy…to accomplish addition happy, to accomplish addition smile through your actions, through what you're doing, there's no amount for that."

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