Debbie Rowe's $4 Million Payoff

Debbie Rowe might have been paid to go away—again. Michael Jackson’s ex-wife and the mother of his eldest children has accepted a $4 million payoff to forfeit parental rights back to the family, The New York Post reported this morning. This wasn’t the first time Rowe’s accepted money from the Jacksons to go away, either: Right after the birth of Prince Michael, Rowe reportedly accepted $8 million—plus $900,000 annually—to let Jackson raise the children. And when Jackson was accused of molestation in 2001, Rowe reclaimed her parental rights—only to immediately forfeit them in exchange for another $4 million. Now, after his death, she’s doing it again: forfeiting her restored rights to Katherine Jackson for another $4 million. Said a source close to the Jacksons: “It’s one final payday. They felt it was like a ransom-type thing ... [Rowe] jumped back into the picture because she wanted money.” But now she is denying a payoff took place and Rowe's lawyer is demanding the Post print a retraction.