Joe Jackson says Omer is Michael's son

LOS ANGELES, July 30 (UPI) -- Joe Jackson says Omer Bhatti, a 25-year-old aspiring Norwegian rapper, is his late son Michael's eldest child.

Michael Jackson died June 25 at the age of 50. He had three known children -- Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II, 7.

Bhatti was frequently seen with the pop star and reportedly lived at the singer's Neverland Ranch at one point although his identity and relationship to Jackson were not clear.

The Los Angeles Times noted Bhatti was in the front row of Jackson's public memorial service earlier this month along with the recording artist's children, parents and siblings.

"Yes, I knew he had another son; yes, I did," the Times quoted Joe Jackson as saying in a video interview posted on NewsOne.com.

"He looks like a Jackson, acts like a Jackson, can dance like a Jackson," Joe Jackson said.

"If Omer's his son, he's his son," Michael's brother Jermaine told Britain's the Daily Mail. "We won't deny it. We are going to give him the same love and care that we give Prince and Paris and Blanket. I can't clearly say if he is Michael's, but I saw this kid around him."

"(Michael) Jackson has told his closest associates Omer's mom was a Norwegian with whom he had a one-night stand," a source told Us Weekly for a 2004 story about how Jackson had acknowledged he was Bhatti's father.