But, no, the Gloved One's sister merely has psychic friends--she is, alas, not one of them. And so it has come to pass that LaToya is suing the owners of LaToya Jackson's Psychic Friends Network, claiming she hasn't seen a cent of royalties from all those misguided, er, message-seeking phone calls in two years.
An attorney for the entertainer actually places most of the blame for the botched business deal with an infamous figure in LaToya's past: ex-husband, ex-manager Jack Gordon.
Gordon, you'll recall, is the guy who once allegedly attacked LaToya with a white leather chair. He was arrested on possession of a weapon (the chair) and later explained that any furniture-wielding he may have done was in self-defense against LaToya, who attacked him first with, no chair, but a sharp object.
Well, surprise, surprise, Gordon and LaToya divorced in 1996 (a shock to fans who remember the way Gordon lovingly cared for LaToya after she was clubbed by Roman thugs armed with metal pipes--no chairs). Anyway, Brian Oxman, LaToya's lawyer, claims that Gordon renegotiated a contract with Zodiac Group and Galaxy Communications--the psychic phone people--after the split. The deal netted Gordon an $80,000 advance, but LaToya ended up with zilch, even if the contract did call for her to receive $2,000 a month, plus royalties (once Gordon's advance was earned back), Oxman says.
"Jack Gordon had no right to do this," Oxman tells the Los Angeles-based City News Service. "He did not get Ms. Jackson's permission, and when she heard about it, she was very upset."
But LaToya, apparently following the money, is suing, not Gordon, but Zodiac and Galaxy. She wants $450,000, she says is due her, plus interest.
No comment from either of the two companies.
The LaToya Jackson Psychic Friends Network launched in 1992.