As the first anniversary of Michael Jackson's June 25 death approaches, the late singer's family is still feuding over the cause of his demise.
In a new video interview with British paper News of the World, Joe Jackson, 80, alleges that his son died as a result of his wife Katherine's inaction.
Insisting he begged his wife to help get their son into rehab for an alleged prescription pill addiction, Joe says the final straw came when the pair saw their son laying on a mortuary table.
"I said, 'If you had listened to me Michael would be living now!' I kept thinking about the times I had stood in front of her saying something was wrong," Joe told NOTW. "Katherine didn't say a word — I had to get away from her. If she'd done what I asked, Michael would be here today. I am incensed with her. She could have made a difference."
Joe tells the paper his wife kept a distance from their son prior to his death for fear of invading his privacy.
"Mothers are always the [person] their sons look up to. I wanted her to step in and look at Mike a bit, keep him cheered up," Joe says. "She didn't want to do that because she was afraid that she was invading his privacy."
Jackson died last June at age 50 after going into cardiac arrest.
In a will revealed in May, the pop star left $33 million each to his children Prince, 13, Paris, 12, and Blanket, 8. His mother, the legal guardian to the kids, will receive 40% of his estate, with the remaining 20% going to charity, according to the document.
Joe Jackson, Michael's famous siblings, and ex-wives Debbie Rowe and Lisa Marie Presley were shut out of the settlement.
