Michael Jackson's Kids, Parents Join Oprah: Talk Plastic Surgery, Beatings and…French Toast?

By Gina Serpe, www.Eonline.com

It was a morning of firsts on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

For the first time, Katherine Jackson admitted that her son was addicted to plastic surgery. For the first time, after much umbrage taken with the term, Joe Jackson admitted that he beat his children. And for the first time, thanks to daughter Paris, the world learned about Michael Jackson’s hidden talent.

Namely, making French toast.

The wide-ranging interview took place at the Jacksons’ Encino compound, and while it started out with Katherine, the duo was soon joined by Joe, then Paris, Prince Michael and the exceedingly shy (yet pretty adorable) Blanket, along with the other Jackson kids who live at the house.

But mostly, it was about Michael, and while the topic of his controversial single and upcoming Sony album was not even remotely touched upon (the sit-down took place several weeks ago), Katherine did explain why she chose to release a book about her son, Never Can Say Goodbye.

“I wanted to do it for his fans and for the people that misunderstood him…I think of my son all through the day, all the time. I don’t like to talk about him because I…,” she said, tearing up. “It comes to my mind every day, yes it does.”

Despite the hardship clearly evident in discussing her son’s life, Katherine didn’t shy away from the talking points about her son, and proceeded to handle every question thrown at her.

First up: plastic surgery. Katherine said that Michael hated his appearance beginning in adolescence and one day announced he would be getting a nose job.

“He didn’t want to start looking ‘like a spotted cow,’ he said,” Katherine explained of his multiple skin surgeries to treat his vitiligo. “I don’t know what in the world he did to change that, but he did.”

As for Michael’s claim on Oprah several years ago that he only ever underwent two surgeries in his life, both on his nose, Katherine said, “He had more than two, he was just embarrassed.”

“I hear that people get addicted to plastic surgery, and I think that’s what happened to him. I said, that’s enough.”

Though neither he nor his plastic surgeon, with whom Katherine also had a word, listened.

Next up for talking points, Michael’s marriage to Lisa Marie Presley.

“It was a surprise for me, he called me after he had married her,” Katherine said, saying that Michael put Lisa Marie on the phone to speak with her, though she didn’t believe at first that she was actually talking to Presley.

“She had a heavy voice and I didn’t know that,” she said, adding in a whisper (and yielding some laughs from Winfrey), “She sounded like a black girl.”

The majority of the interview, however, was spent discussing Michael’s death on June 25, and the life choices that led to that tragic day.

“The worst day of my life,” a teary Katherine began. “My heart dropped. And so they called me and said come to the hospital. Michael’s in the hospital.”

She said that she had an immediate feeling that he might be dead, but that nobody would tell her anything for some time.

“I kind of felt it, but I was wishing that it wouldn’t be…They made the doctor tell me. The doctor had to tell us…Dr. Murray.”

Yes, that would be Dr. Conrad Murray.

“He came out, and he was talking and it took him so long.” Finally, Katherine asked, “Did he make it?”

“He said, ‘No, he’s gone.’ That’s all I remember,” she said, tearing up. “I’m sorry.”

As for Murray, who is facing an involuntary manslaughter charge for Jackson, Katherine said she’s thought “a thousand times” what she would say to him.