Janet Jackson, Vanity Fair Feud: Singer Denies Michael Jackson's Funeral Was Delayed Over Payment
Janet Jackson is furious with Vanity Fair and has reportedly had her attorney send a letter to the magazine demanding a retraction of an article about her contained in the mag's November issue.
The piece claims that Janet delayed her brother Michael Jackson's funeral until she was paid back $40,000 deposit to secure his plot, according to Us Weekly.
The article was in fact an excerpt from an upcoming book by Randall Sullivan entitled "Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson."
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However, Janet has called the accusations completely false and her attorney has sent a letter demanding a retraction for the "defamatory" statements.
Janet's attorney, Blair G. Brown's letter has been allegedly obtained by Us Weekly. It was dated Oct. 5, according to the publication, and stated: "Ms. Jackson never delayed the funeral in anyway. In fact, she paid for the funeral and was reimbursed for some of those expenses by Michael Jackson's estate in the year after the services took place."
It added: "In addition, there were other private costs associated with Michael Jackson's passing that Ms. Jackson incurred and for which she has never sought reimbursement. To falsely accuse Ms. Jackson of holding up her brother's funeral over money is outrageous. This story is particularly hurtful and distressing because of Ms. Jackson's strong desire to serve her brother, whom she loved dearly, and he wish to stand with and support her family."
The attorney's letter continued, "I demand that Vanity Fair retract its statement that Ms. Jackson 'refused' to let Michael Jackson's funeral take place until the money she put down as a deposition on his burial plot was repaid.
"To the extend that this statement appears in excerpts of Untouchable published in Vanity Fair's November 2012 issue, I demand that Vanity Fair publish a retraction explaining that the statement is false."
