Ferdaus Shamim/Getty Images, Axel/ ZumaPress.comFirst (and most bizarrely) it was Joe Jackson. Then La Toya Jackson. Now it's Tito Jackson's turn to, if not cash in on his brother's name—and knowing the British tabloids, that's a fairly big if—at least get his turn in the media spotlight.
The 55-year-old Jackson gave a lengthy interview to Britain's Daily Mirror yesterday, revealing, among many shocking disclosures, that he and his siblings were so convinced that Michael was abusing prescription drugs, they once forced an intervention at Neverland Ranch.
"We had to act," he said. "It was me, my sisters Janet, Rebbie and La Toya, and my brothers Jackie and Randy.
"We bust right into the house and he was surprised, to say the least."
Not to mention firmly in denial.
"We went into one of his private rooms and had a discussion with him. Some of us were crying. We kept asking him if it was true what we had heard that he was using drugs.
"He kept denying it. He said we were overreacting."
Tito said that while the family "never saw him on drugs, not once," they remained unconvinced by their brother's denials—and swayed mostly by the increasing number of reports alleging that Michael had a problem.
Guess you can't say the tabloid press never did anything to help the Jackson family.
"He deliberately did it away from us," Tito said of his brother's prescription drug use. "He didn't want his family to know anything about that part of him. He did almost everything in his power to make sure we didn't know.
"We didn't know what to believe. We didn't take what Michael said as the truth."
As it happens, the siblings' intervention was the family's third attempt at reaching out to Michael. Previously, Neverland Ranch staff had barricaded the roads leading into the property, blocking the family's entrance and otherwise preventing them from stepping foot on the estate.
Needless to say, the access issue was not exactly helped by the unwelcome intervention.
"After that occasion we tried many times, but his team of people just shut us out, they would not let us close. They literally shut us out."
While Tito added that he wasn't sure whether it was "some kind of conspiracy," he was sure that the staff was operating under strict orders from his brother.
"I do know that Michael would say to them, 'I don't care who it is, don't let anybody on my property if they haven't called first.' "
Tito blames the directness of what was by all accounts an unsuccessful intervention on Michael's reticence to let the siblings back into his life…or even his home.
"Before the intervention attempt, I would never go to him and say, 'Are you still doing it?' I would just say, 'Are you sure you're fine?' He'd say, 'I'm fine, TT.'
"He knew what I meant, he knew I was talking about drugs."
Unlike his sister La Toya, however, Tito isn't so quick to play the murder card.
"I don't know whether he was killed or not. But I would say that sometimes he had people around him that were not in his best interests.
"Whether his death was an accident or whether it was deliberate, something has gone on and we need to get to the bottom of it."
And, well, speaking of bottoms…
Tito also took time out to discuss a topic Michael's fans, and especially his detractors, are equally as curious about: His decided nonaversion to the scalpel.
"Michael's plastic surgery started around 1979, when he went solo," Tito said, confirming that his decision to go under the knife was likely prompted by father Joe's merciless childhood mocking.
"It was just something that a lot of entertainers were doing at the time. He never told me why, but I think he thought it would improve his looks," he said, before offering up an age-old argument—everybody was doing it.
And for those keeping score at home…
"It wasn't a big deal having lip jobs, nose jobs or butt implants, especially living in California.
"He was forever trying to improve his looks. In a way, it was sad."
And just in case his Peter Pan persona wasn't enough of a clue, Tito added that the one thing his brother was definitely trying not to do was grow old.
"He didn't want to turn into someone who couldn't make it up the stairs or couldn't make it to the bathroom. But I don't think losing his life at an early age was part of his plan, either."