- Michael Jackson’s dad, Joe Jackson, once spoke out about the singer’s alleged son, Omer Bhatti.
- Details about Michael and Omer show they were close and bonded over their love for dance and music.
- Omer, close to Michael’s three other kids, is now focused on his personal development, having embraced wellness, books, yoga, and meditation.
Michael Jackson at the 16th Annual American Music Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on January 30, 1989. | Source: Getty Images
Pop star Michael Jackson was a dad of three. His only daughter, Paris-Michael Katherine, is 25. Michael’s two sons are Prince, 26, and Bigi Jackson, formerly known as Blanket, who is 21. The King of Pop was also alleged to be the father of rapper Omer Bhatti.
Michael Jackson at the opening of the stage musical, “Dream Girls” in Los Angeles, California in 1983. | Source: Getty Images
Omer looks just like Michael and dances like the legend. He also once lived with Michael’s family at his Neverland Ranch and was with the singer on and off for the last eight years, as of 2004.
According to Fox News, Michael told several of his colleagues that Omer was his biological son. He revealed that the boy’s mother was Norwegian and that they had a one-night stand around 1987. As per Michael’s narrative, the mother could not care for him, so she permitted the singer to send two employees to Oslo to care for the baby as their own.
Omer was also allegedly told he was Michael’s son and asked to keep that a secret to ensure his privacy and security. Omer also has an uncanny resemblance to the singer’s son, Bigi Jackson. Still, Michael only revealed these details about Omer after people started asking questions about the boy’s constant presence at Neverland Valley Ranch.
However, an insider revealed that Omer couldn’t be Michael’s son as they met for the first time in a hotel lobby. Michael reportedly told this insider that his team feared the boy’s mother was stalking him, but when they met her, Omer imitated the singer. Sources claim Michael was so captivated by the boy that he instantly adopted his family.
Pia and Omer Bhatti | Source: Instagram/kidslife/
Another insider reiterated these statements, “I’m not surprised Michael says he’s the father. It’s a fantasy. But these people did not exist in Michael’s life before 1996.”
Stacy Brown, who once worked as the family’s spokesperson, revealed that she first heard about Omer in 1992. At the time, the boy would have been eight. Stacy confirmed that Michael would tell people Omer was his son, but “the fact is, he is not Michael’s son.”
Pia | Source: Instagram/kidslife/
Omer’s father, Riz, was Pakistani, and his mother, Pia, was Norwegian. So, the singer relocated them to Neverland from Norway after their encounter in the hotel lobby. Michael hired the mother to be Prince’s nanny. The father was given a job as Michael’s driver.
Michael traveled with Omer worldwide, and the young boy dressed as the singer’s mini version. Photos show the two in Japan and Poland resembling each other. At 12, Omer had long and flowy black hair, his skin was whiteish but not Caucasian, and he had an upturned nose.
In a February 2003 NBC “Dateline” special featuring home movies of Christmas 1998 at Neverland, Omer was captured receiving gifts from Michael, who hugged him repeatedly, saying he was thankful. A voice-over remarked, “Here’s a boy who resembles Michael receiving gifts from him.”
Stacy also revealed more details about Omer. She said he lived in Neverland for a long time and moved out when Michael did. People didn’t call him his real name as they called him “Michael J.” Stacy recalled, “Ever since he was a little boy, he would make himself up to look like Michael. They would wear the same — hat, pants, shoes, even socks. Michael loved it.”
Omer Bhatti became a local celebrity in Norway due to his and Michael’s tight bond. He would moonwalk as Michael and was in the news when he announced that the singer had allowed him to record some of his songs with Jae-R, a local rapper in Norway.
Michael also dedicated his “Invincible” album to Benjamin Hermansen, a friend of Omer and an Afro-Norwegian boy who was killed by neo-Nazis. Eventually, Omer signed a record deal, and under the stage name O-Bee, he began following in Michael’s footsteps.
Still, Michael’s friends said Omer wasn’t his son. One friend commented, “Omer is very beautiful. He looks like a child Michael could have had with a Norwegian woman. But trust me. Omer is not his.”
Another friend suggested that Michael claimed Omer was his son because he was very competitive with his father, Joe Jackson, and wanted to have more children than him. In an interview, Joe referred to Omer as Michael’s estranged son. When asked if he knew the boy was the singer’s son, he replied, “Yes, I knew he had another son, yes, I did.”
Joe noted that Omer looked like Michael and danced like him, and since he was a fantastic dancer, he even taught dance. In 2009, news outlets reported that Omer wanted a DNA test to find out if he was Michael’s son. Michael’s brother, Jermaine, also said Omer would be treated as family if he is confirmed to be the singer’s son.
Jermaine added that he used to see Omer around Michael but couldn’t know if he was his brother’s son. “If Omer’s his son, he’s his son. We won’t deny it. We are going to give him the same love and care that we give Prince and Paris and Blanket,” promised Jermaine.
During Michael’s memorial service, his sister, Rebbie, had Omer sit up front next to the family, showing that he occupied a special place in the singer’s life. After the service, Omer remained in Los Angeles and was seen playing with Prince, Paris, and Bigi.
Pia and Omer Bhatti | Source: Instagram/kidslife/
His parents, who returned to Oslo, refused to answer questions about the boy’s parentage. Now, Omer is navigating the entertainment industry as a rapper, with his stage name O-Bee.
A video shared on YouTube shows that Omer performed even before he met Michael. In the clip, he is seen doing a self-made performance at the talent show “Bravo Bravissimo” in Italy in 1995.
In 2016, Omer released a single, “Automatic,” making his debut on Billboard. The rapper played a superhero in the clip, directed by Chris Perez and produced by Prince. Omer revealed that he thrives off creating something and added that the video concept originated from Prince’s first ideas for the clip.
Omer also chose to take a cinematic approach when making the video, an idea that came naturally to him since he was mentored by Michael, who used to say that his clips were not music videos but that he made short films. “I guess that stuck with me,” noted Omer.
Omer was also featured in Paris’s documentary “Unfiltered: Paris Jackson and Gabriel Glenn.” The rapper joined Paris on the set of her music video, where she said, “Omer is my oldest brother.”
The rapper also explained his connection to Michael’s family, “I consider myself an older brother because when Prince was born, my mom was hired to be Prince’s nanny, I’ve been there since she was a baby, I would say almost, maybe even partly raised her, yeah, she’s my little sister in every way.”
Paris Jackson added that she feels recharged anytime she spends time with Omer. Like any other siblings, the two, including Prince, could be seen goofing around in the documentary.
“We’ve really never had issues, like, we’ve never fought, we’ve never gotten in arguments,” she divulged. Paris admitted that Prince and Omer, whom she calls her older brothers, are like her best friends whom she loves so much.
Prince Jackson also spoke about Omer, calling him Michael’s prodigy as the singer taught him how to dance. “You can really see that when he moves,” said Prince.
Omer revealed that he started performing when he was nine, and his television appearances led him to Michael. “He, in a way, adopted me and became like a mentor and father figure for me,” he added.
The rapper looked up to Michael Jackson as a little kid and absorbed everything the singer taught him. Omer said Michael ended up calling him his “mini version.” The two would go to concerts together, where Omer had seats on stage, where he could see the audience and Michael performing right before him.
Omer can’t say the first time he met Michael’s kids because he considers them siblings. To him, it’s like he was there the day they were born. Michael’s kids fill Omer with joy because the rapper always wanted younger siblings. “And I got that through Prince, Paris, and Bigi,” he concluded.
In 2017, when Paris was celebrating her birthday, Omer called her his “lil sis” and wished her a happy birthday. He shared a gorgeous picture of Paris and wrote, “Keep rising and enjoy your last year as a teenager in this lifetime Love you yabyab.”
Omer also posted a picture of him and Paris looking gorgeous in 2019. Fans pointed out how the pair resembled each other. “You and your sister have the same beautiful face,” a fan said. “The Jacksons,” commented another fan. Fans noticed the brother and sister love between the two.
“❤️Lovely Pic with sister and brother,” wrote another fan. One individual gushed over Paris and Omer’s cuteness, “Absolutely beautiful! You both look so much like Michael. Beautiful and stunning.”
Omer, on a personal development journey, kept away from the limelight. During that time, he got to know himself better, gained new perspectives, grew, and let go of many things that had stuck with him.
During his time away from the public, Omer became vegan. When he reintroduced himself to the limelight, he found that things had changed and weren’t as interesting as in the past. Omer now spends much of his time on wellness, yoga, and meditation, as well as reading a lot of books.