Jackson Family

On what would have been his 56th birthday, Michael Jackson's three kids -- Paris, Prince and Blanket -- visited his hometown of Gary, Indiana for a family celebration.

The occasion marked the first time all three Jackson children have been seen together in quite some time.

As TMZ first reported, Paris has recently reconnected with Jackson family members. after trying to take her own life by cutting herself a year ago. She's been living in Utah at a boarding school where she's receiving therapy.

Michael Jackson threatened his staff with animal poop balls ... and would freely piss all over the house ... so claim 3 former Neverland maids.

The 3 maids spoke with the New York Post, but did not want their names revealed. They tell scatological stories that paint a shocking tale of uncleanliness. One maid says when the urge hit, MJ would just unzip his pants and pee in the grand entry of Neverland.

The maids were shocked, because when guests like Oprah or Elizabeth Taylor would visit the floors would be waxed but all they could think of is ... they're stepping where Michael took a wiz.

Another maid says Jackson would track in animal poop from his mini-farm on the property and then threaten to throw poop snowballs at the help.

The maids say Jackson lived like a pig ... his bedroom was littered with half-eaten chicken, potato chips, empty wine and whiskey bottles. One maid said it was so bad, the place was infested with bedbugs.

Michael Jackson had code words and signals that he used with a boy he allegedly molested to describe various sex acts ... including "duck butter."

James Safechuck -- now 36 -- claims in his lawsuit against the MJ Estate ... the singer started abusing him when he was 10 ... when he traveled with Michael to Paris for the "Bad" tour in 1988.

In new court docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Safechuck says Michael taught him to use code words ... referring to his erection as "bright light, brick city" ... and calling semen, "duck butter."

Safechuck claims Jackson also used secret signals -- when they would hold hands, Michael would scratch the inside of James' hand with a finger ... to show he wanted to have sex.

Safechuck says MJ wanted a full-blown relationship with him ... to the point he performed a secret wedding ceremony with the boy with wedding ring and a marriage certificate.

He also describes how Michael would take him to various homes -- including a place called "The Hideout" in Century City -- where they would drink sweet, pink wine and watch porn ... including movies of children masturbating.

Safechuck says at one point ... he questioned his own sexuality -- because he also had a crush on Sheryl Crow, who was one of Jackson's backup singers. He says Michael found out and became jealous ... showing him unflattering pics of Crow without makeup.

Safechuck says the abuse stopped entirely when he reached puberty.

Howard Weitzman, attorney for the MJ Estate, tells TMZ the whole lawsuit should be scrapped because it was filed more than 20 years after the incidents supposedly happened ... and says Safechuck "has given sworn testimony that Michael never did anything inappropriate to him."

Paris Jackson is back in the L.A. area -- possibly with a boyfriend -- and we've learned the point of the visit is to re-establish Jackson family ties.

Paris was hanging out in Calabasas Wednesday night with some friends as guardian T.J. Jackson followed closely behind. It looks like the guy with the dark hair might be a date or a boyfriend.

Sources connected to the Jacksons tell TMZ ... the doctors who have been treating Paris after she tried to take her life have told her she needs to create a family support system ... because she's become estranged from her entire family.

We're told doctors were concerned 16-year-old Paris' only meaningful relationship has been with Debbie Rowe -- her biological mother who does not have custody.

Doctors want her to mend fences with Katherine, her siblings and other immediate family ... they think it's important to her healing.

Michael Jackson's Estate is suing a movie memorabilia store for auctioning off historic photos from MJ's heyday -- and duping potential buyers with a get-rich-quick scheme.

The pics are from the Jackson brothers' 1984 Victory Tour. According to court docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Michael hired a photog to shoot the concerts ... and Jackson's company owned all the rights to the pictures.

The Estate claims Premiere Props put the photos up for auction, and misled buyers into believing they would also own copyright on the pics -- a huge selling point, because the buyer could make a fortune by reprinting and selling the pics.

Premiere valued the pics from $200 to over $2K, according to its website.

One irate Michael Jackson fan is suing his Estate because she thinks MJ was not the lead singer on 3 of his songs on the 2010 CD, "Michael" ... the first release after his death.

The woman filed the suit today in L.A. claiming she bought the disc in 2011, but didn't hear enough Michael on 3 particular tracks.

In the suit she claims she hired an audio expert to analyze her CD and he determined it was very likely that MJ did not sing lead vocals on "Breaking News" ... "Monster" ... and "Keep Your Head Up."

The woman wants this to be a class action -- meaning if the allegation is true the Estate would owe money to everyone who bought the full album, or any of the 3 tracks in question.

Michael Jackson and Justin Bieber would've been tight ... so says Jermaine Jackson ... but he also thinks MJ would have put the Biebs in his place.

Our photog spotted Jermaine at LAX yesterday, and he told us he thought MJ and Biebs would have probably made some music together, but more importantly ... Michael would have "spoken to him like a father figure."

Interesting insight ... if you can strip away the fact that MJ hanging around a 14-year-old Bieber could be viewed (certainly in hindsight) as SUPER creepy.

17-year-old Michael Jackson fan Brett Nichols didn't just win his school's talent show with his MJ routine ... he caught the eye of MJ's estate ... who have invited the kid to Las Vegas for a show ... TMZ has learned.

A rep for the Jackson estate tells TMZ ... the executors saw Nichols' impressive performance and were blown away ... so they put together a package to send to Nichols to show how much they liked his act.

The rep says they sent Nichols the new MJ album "Xscape" (no iTunes cards?) and an invitation for Brett and his family (mom, dad and sister) to all attend a performance of Michael Jackson ONE in Las Vegas.

We're told they contacted Nichols' principal, who in turn told Nichols and his family this afternoon ... who were predictably beyond excited.

Much better than some stupid trophy.

For a few minutes at a small high school in the middle of California, Michael Jackson was resurrected ... in the form of a skinny, redheaded white teenager.

It all went down last Friday at Pitman High School in Turlock, CA ... located near Modesto. 17-year-old Brett Nichols stole the show with his MJ routine ... set of course to "Billie Jean."

We're told 60 different acts auditioned to take part in the show, but only nine got to actually perform for the school. Nichols walked away with the championship and got to take home the school's Pitman’s Got Talent Rally trophy.

Jermaine Jackson doesn't need a hot bikini model to promote his new water company -- 'cause the Jackson 5 singer has his 84-year old mother to do the job.

Jermaine's company, Vita Water had a media event yesterday at Whole Foods in Tarzana ... and for some reason he brought Katherine Jackson along to help shill the drinks.

1) Katherine is too old to be posing for photo opps and handing out free samples.

2) Isn't she supposed to be watching MJ's kids?!?

Michael Jackson's new album could cause a whole new rift in the Jackson family -- Jermaine told us he was against it ... but brother Jackie says he's so excited about the new cd, it made him cry.

Jackie tells TMZ he's listened to the entire cd and thinks producer L.A. Reid "hit it right on the head," adding, "It brought tears to my eyes to see that they felt Michael was in the room when they made the record."

Jackie says he loves "Xscape" so much, he went out and bought copies for himself and friends.

The lawyer for the latest Michael Jackson sexual molestation accuser is coming out swinging ... telling TMZ the pop star routinely made the young boy skip school so he could be "available" to MJ.

James Safechuck's lawyer, Maryann Marzano, tells TMZ ... MJ publicly flaunted his relationship with the boy, making it appear they were best friends and Safechuck was Michael's protege. The lawyer says in reality MJ was privately molesting the kid.

As TMZ previously reported, James Safechuck (who appeared alongside MJ in a 1987 Pepsi commercial) is accusing Jackson of years of sexual abuse. MJ estate attorney Howard Weitzman has called the allegations "false and scurrilous."

Marzano says a "narcissistic" MJ would prevent Safechuck from going to school as a 10 and 11-year-old so the boy could be available to him when he was on tour.

Marzano tells TMZ, "If there is still any question about the predatory nature of Michael Jackson’s so-called ‘friendships’ with young boys, it should be laid to rest by the indisputable facts of what Michael did to James Safechuck."

10:00 A.M. PDT -- Howard Weitzman -- attorney for Jackson's estate -- tells TMZ Safechuck has denied many times over the past 25 years that Michael ever did anything inappropriate to him ... but is "now demanding money from Michael's Estate by claiming he suddenly recalls life differently." Weitzman says Michael is no longer able to defend himself, but "we believe these false and scurrilous allegations will not prevail."

A new sexual molestation claim has been filed against the estate of Michael Jackson by a man who claims the singer sexually abused him from the time he was 10 until he was around 15 ... this according to a new report.

This latest claim was added on to the lawsuit filed by Wade Robson last year, so says The Daily Beast. The filing is sealed, but the site reports the claims are being made by James Safechuck, who appeared as a child alongside Jackson in a 1987 commercial for Pepsi (see below).

According to the report, Safechuck had long denied being sexually abused by Jackson, but decided to come forward after Robson made his claims public.

There were rumors about Jackson's relationship with Safechuck in the late 80s ... the singer was often seen with the young boy following their commercial together ... including the opening performance of "The Phantom of the Opera" with Liza Minnelli (see above).

The Estate has already objected to Robson's claim because it was both suspicious and filed too late.

Jermaine Jackson does not like the idea of new Michael Jackson music being released, but says it would have been cool if the Jackson 5 had worked on it.

JJ went from guarded to bitter when we asked him about the new MJ music Saturday afternoon in Calabasas. He says he's only heard one of the songs so far ... and thought it was good.

But overall, he's against the idea of MJ's music being released without MJ around ... noting the estate passed over the Jackson 5 to work with producers like Timbaland.

Tito Jackson calmly and coolly defended his brother Jermaine, who told TMZ earlier in the week, "If it wasn't for the Jackson 5, there would be no Michael Jackson."

Tito told our photog in Calabasas Friday ... Jermaine was misunderstood, and he explains why.

Tito also bristled at Debbie Rowe's comment to us ... the Jackson 4 are all bad influences on Michael's kids.

No "Thriller" ... no "Beat It" ... no King of Pop -- Michael Jackson would have missed out on all of that ... and so would the world if the Jackson 5 didn't make MJ such a star.

At least that's Jermaine Jackson's take ... and who's gonna argue with him? Besides everyone.