A Guide To The Jackson Family Feud

From kidnappings to custody battles, cell phone fights and sibling wars, it's all explained here in what seems to be the never-ending drama involving Michael Jackson's kids.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Via nydailynews.com

All in the family! Katherine, Michael Jackson's mother, is the guardian of his three kids - Prince, Paris and Bieber, err, Blanket - and the recipient of a monthly stipend that is used to take care of her and the kids.

The last time she was with her grandkids was July 15th. According to a statement her lawyer would later put out after her disappearance, she was perfectly fine:

"When Michael's children last saw their grandmother ... she was in great health physically as well as mentally."

Mystery disappearance. Planning to attend her sons' "Unity" tour, she boarded a flight with her daughter, Rebbie, but never arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico where the show was to take place.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Where there's a will, there's a way. Meanwhile, the Jackson siblings - Janet, Jermaine, Rebbie, Tito and Randy - slapped their Hancocks on a letter to John Branca and John McClain, the executors of the late King of Pop's estate, accusing them of fraud. According to the siblings, the will used to manage his estate was a "fake."

Katherine's whereabouts? Unknown at the time.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Via Twitter: @jermjackson5

...Jermaine tweeted. But that didn't stop the confusion (or the drama). In fact, TMZ reported that Jermaine and brother Randy plotted against Katherine to get a stake of their late brother's estate.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

GUS RUELAS / Reuters

Despite Jermaine's tweet, Katherine Jackson's nephew, Trent, reported that she was missing. Trent "filed a missing person's report with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department after her grandchildren had been unable to reach her for over a week."

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Via Twitter: @ParisJackson

To the Tweetspace! Live-tweet-addicted Jackson flamed the fire of the kidnapping story and complained that she hasn't seen or heard from her guardian in several days. Her grandmother normally never goes 24 hours without checking in with the kids.

However, Paris wasn't the only one to make a statement about Katherine's whereabouts. The police, her lawyer and Jermaine all put out conflicting reports.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Girl fight! The ongoing family feud eventually led to a physical altercation between Paris and Janet who supposedly slapped her niece and called her a "spoiled little bitch." But the fighting wasn't limited to the ladies. TMZ reported that Trent put Randy in a headlock and dupri'd Jermaine's face.

Via Twitter: @princemjjjaxon

Copy cat! Like his live-tweet-addicted sister, Prince took to social to update the press on the latest scuffle with Janet & Co.

It wasn't a good day for Janet - excuse me, Ms. Jackson, cause she's nasty.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Tito out! Following the scuffles and bitch fights, Tito backed out of his siblings' plot against Katherine and the estate. In a statement he said, "I completely retract my signature from the July 17th letter sent to the Executors of my brother Michael's estate and repudiate all the claims made against them."

Via Twitter: @ParisJackson

Humbled. Live-tweet-addicted Jackson backed off her perch and apologized for her recent behavior.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

A new guardian. In a late-breaking move, a judge awarded Tito's son, TJ, emergency temporary guardianship over Prince, Paris and Blanket. No word on who got Bieber.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Just kidding! Turns out Katherine wasn't kidnapped; she was in Arizona with Rebbie.

"There are rumors going around about me that I have been kidnapped," she told ABC News. "I am here today to let everybody to know that I am good and fine ... My children would never do anything to me like that."

A photo of Rebbie was not available at the time of publication. An official police sketch has been included instead.

She was on a break people! According to Katherine, she needed a break from everyone and decided to scurry off to her sister's place. In the same ABC interview, she said:

"One reason I didn't call is I just gave up my phone and I didn't want to have any phone calls while I was here."

Via Twitter: @ParisJackson

Paris finally tweets something happy. And the saga has ended...

Friday, July 27, 2012

But what about La Toya? Detective Jackson remained abnormally quiet about the ongoing feud. Was she missing? No one seemed to know but no one was really asking.

Early Friday morning, the singing detective jumped into the fray with a message to her family: stop the fighting. TMZ hinted that she was not aligned with kidnapping siblings and only wanted what's best for Michael's kids.

Case closed.

If none of that made sense, here's this handy chart:

Via grantland.com