Michael Jackson’s most successful sibling, Janet Jackson, finally said what most were already feeling: she wants Dr. Conrad Murray to suffer the legal consequences for killing her older brother.
After a prolonged period of silence, except for appearances at awards tributes, Janet Jackson told ABC’s Robin Roberts that Murray’s suspected criminal administration of powerful narcotics abruptly ended Michael Jackson’s life in June at age 50. The full interview will air on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 10 p.m.
“He was the one that was administering [the drugs]. I think he is responsible,” Janet said, adding that Murray’s license to practice medicine should be permanently revoked.
Janet Jackson was inspired by Michael Jackson’s musical ascendance to intergalactic territories and eventually accomplished the rare feat of overcoming a sibling’s gigantic shadow to achieve superstar status herself. She says she is still in a state of shock that the genius of the Jackson 5, who produced Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad is no longer among the living.
“It’s been a tough year. You have your days where it’s just really … it’s hard to believe,” a somber Janet said of Michael. Janet and Michael were the closest siblings before Janet left their Encino, Calif., home hooked up with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and launched her own legendary career. “A day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about him.”
Although media reports have been sparse recently, Murray remains the focal point of a manslaughter investigation for admittedly supplying Michael with a toxic brew of prescription drugs that eventually incited cardiac arrest. He is also accused of a cover-up in the aftermath of Jackson’s death.
Like most of Michael’s fans worldwide, Janet painfully recalled where she was when she received that fateful call.
“I was at my house in New York. You know, another day. Another morning. And I get a call [that] said, ‘Your brother’s been taken to the hospital. It’s on CNN right now.’ I called everyone. [The] line was busy or someone wasn’t picking up. I spoke to mother. I spoke to Tito. I spoke to my nephew, Austin. I spoke to my sister, LaToya. I remember thinking, ‘Nobody’s calling me back.’ So I tried calling again, and that’s how I found out that he was no longer [alive] … I couldn’t believe it,” she says.
–terry shropshire
