Michael Jackson's 22-year-old son Blanket Bigi Jackson has filed legal documents asking the court to block his grandmother, Katherine Jackson, from using the late pop singer's estate money to pay her legal fees.
As reported by TMZ, MJ's youngest child wants to block his 93-year-old grandmother from funding an appeal on a previous ruling. The pair had previously worked together in an effort to stop executors of the MJ estate from making a big transaction that they weren't on board with.
While the details of said transaction haven't been made public, it has been speculated it could have something to do with Sony Music's plans to pay between $600 and $750 million for a stake in Jackson's catalog. His catalog is valued at around $1.2 billion but could be closer to $1.5 billion.
Blanket and his grandmother have opposed a large deal, which hasn't been specified, but the court ruled against them. Katherine wanted to appeal the ruling, but Blanket didn't want to be involved. His primary reason, per the recent filing, is his belief the appeal won't be successful and will ultimately cost the estate more than the legal battle is worth.
He agrees, however, that she is entitled to attorney's fees from the pre-appeal legal battle. While not mentioned in the legal documents, the executors of MJ's estate revealed that the late pop star's mother gets a seven-figure allowance each year, per Radar Online. In 2020 alone, she was paid $1.1 million for legal fees. Her home in Calabasas received $800,000 in renovations which were also paid for by the estate.
Sony's big deal is the largest-ever valuation for a single artist's catalog. The deal includes material owned by Jackson's Mijac publishing catalog, including songs from Sly & the Family Stone, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jackie Wilson, Curtis Mayfield, Ray Charles, Percy Sledge, and Dion, among others. Meanwhile, the acquisition does not include royalties from Broadway’s MJ The Musical and other theatrical productions featuring Jackson's work.
