Last week, when the British tabloids ran a story saying Michael Jackson had a fourth child — a rumor that had been passed around years ago — it was hard to believe and even harder to verify. But Thursday it seemed too hard to pass up when the King of Pop’s own dad, Joe Jackson, said in an interview he knew Michael had a fourth child.

There are only three children named in Jackson’s will, Prince Michael Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Joseph Jackson II.  But in the days after Michael’s death on June 25, the speculation about a fourth again resurfaced.

London’s The Sun named the child as Omer Bhatti, who was raised by parents now living in Norway, but who spent time during his youth with Jackson at Neverland Ranch. The Sun showed photographs of Bhatti sitting with the Jackson family at the singer’s public memorial earlier this month. On Thursday, website NewsOne published an interview with Joe Jackson and in it, the interviewer asks Joe Jackson if Michael had another child, “Omer is his name … Did u know about Michael’s other son?” the reporter asks.

“I knew he had another son. Yes I did,” Joe Jackson said.

When the interviewer followed with “he looks like a Jackson,” Joe answered: “He looks like a Jackson, he acts like a Jackson, he can dance like a Jackson…” You can watch the video on YouTube here or go to the NewsOne site and watch it by clicking here.

A Jackson family spokesman said the family had no statement on Joe’s interview or on the possibility of a fourth child. Several reports have said that Omer Bhatti may be seeking a DNA test to confirm that he is Jackson’s son, but Bhatti could not be located for confirmation.

So, the speculation remains just that. Or does it? Can Joe be trusted with such a claim?

We may find out at an Aug. 3 court hearing in Los Angeles which will deal with matters of Jackson’s will and his estate — valued in court documents at more than $500 million.

Its been a full week since Michael Jackson died.  So …. When is the King of Pop’s funeral? And where?

So far, the answers have proven surprisingly elusive.

Though Michael’s father, Joe Jackson, has had time to turn up at the BET awards and plug his new record label, the family hasn’t uttered a word about the possibility of a funeral or memorial service.

With solid information scarce, the rumors have been flying. For several days last week, media reports said that the family was planning to bury Michael at his once-beloved Neverland Valley Ranch — following an elaborate motorcade four hours up the coast of Los Angeles with the pop star’s body carried to its final resting place in glass-sided, horse-drawn carriage.

That news touched off a stampede to the central California estate by reporters and devoted fans — who were then told there was nothing happening after all. Meanwhile the mayor of Gary, Indiana, piped up to say that Jacko’s hometown was also planning some kind of memorial service.

Then came a new story: A massive Jackson celebration would be held at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.  Or maybe at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. On Sunday. Or maybe on Tuesday night. Wait, make that Tuesday morning.

Stay tuned …

Photo: Michael Jackson fan Jessica Mathis waits outside Neverland (Reuters/ Phil Klein)

Michael Jackson’s fans are still in a state of shock over the King of Pop’s sudden death on Thursday.

So some were a little rankled when Michael’s father, Joe, turned up at the BET awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night and worked the red carpet, speaking of his late son AND plugging his latest business venture: a record label.

In a red carpet interview with CNN reporter Don Lemon, Joe said of the funeral arrangements: “We haven’t gotten to that yet.”  When Lemon asks about how his bereaved wife and children are doing, Joe responds curtly “they’re all doing fine.”

“But I want to make this statement, this is a real good statement here,” Joe says next as he introduces his business partner, Marshall Thompson.  “Marshall and I we own a record company called Ranch Records.”

Thompson then steps forward to explain that Ranch Records, which will employ Blu-Ray technology,  is the “next step” for Joe Jackson. A seemingly confused Lemon then changes the subject.

At a Monday morning press conference to address his son’s second autopsy and plans for a funeral, Jackson explained that he only brought up the record label because he was asked.

“I was asked a question last night about the record company,” Joe said. “What I’m doing is I established a record company with Marshall and the company is called Ranch Records …,” he said. “So we have a lot of good artists fixing to come out.”

Photo: Joe Jackson arrives at the BET awards on Sunday night (Reuters/ Phil McCarten)

The family of Michael Jackson began to appear in public Sunday night at the BET Awards. Father Joe Jackson and sister Janet Jackson turned up at the Los Angeles awards show, sponsored by the BET television network, that annually gives out honors to African American singers, actors, actresses and athletes.

Janet Jackson did not answer any media questions or even approach the media. She appeared on stage, thanking the audience for turning out and showing their love for her brother. You can read about that here.

But Joe Jackson did walk the red carpet and talked to a few reporters, and he came backstage to answer two questions in front of cameras. Below is a two-minute video of Joe Jackson.