BBC NEWS / ENTERTAINMENT
19:05 GMT, Thursday, 2 July 2009 20:05 UK
Jackson's ex-wife in custody vow
Debbie Rowe, the ex-wife of Michael Jackson, says she will fight for custody of the two children she had with the late pop icon.
"I want my children," Ms Rowe said in an interview on Thursday with the NBC TV network in Los Angeles.
Ms Rowe is the mother of Prince Michael, 12, and Paris Michael Katherine, 11. A third child, Prince Michael II, 7, has a surrogate mother.
Jackson's mother has been given temporary custody pending a hearing.
The star, who was 50, died after suffering heart failure at his Los Angeles home last Thursday.
In the telephone interview, Ms Rowe said she was prepared to undergo DNA testing to prove she was the children's biological mother.
She said she would also seek a restraining order to keep Jackson's father, Joe, away from them.
"I am stepping up, I have to," she said.
19:05 GMT, Thursday, 2 July 2009 20:05 UK
Jackson's ex-wife in custody vow
Debbie Rowe, the ex-wife of Michael Jackson, says she will fight for custody of the two children she had with the late pop icon.
"I want my children," Ms Rowe said in an interview on Thursday with the NBC TV network in Los Angeles.
Ms Rowe is the mother of Prince Michael, 12, and Paris Michael Katherine, 11. A third child, Prince Michael II, 7, has a surrogate mother.
Jackson's mother has been given temporary custody pending a hearing.
The star, who was 50, died after suffering heart failure at his Los Angeles home last Thursday.
In the telephone interview, Ms Rowe said she was prepared to undergo DNA testing to prove she was the children's biological mother.
She said she would also seek a restraining order to keep Jackson's father, Joe, away from them.
"I am stepping up, I have to," she said.