Musician Brandon Howard, who performs as B Howard and is featured on a recent Akon track, was the subject of a press conference today at noon at FilmOn Studios in Beverly Hills, CA. FilmOn’s Alki David assembled cosmetic dentist Joseph Goodman, mob son Johnny Fratto, actor Corey Feldman and David Nuzzy Nussbaum, a member of FilmOn’s crew who was extremely skeptical of the claims. Howard was not present.
Brandon Howard is definitely the son of pop star Miki Howard, now 53, who was once managed by Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson. Miki’s nickname was “Billie.” As in Billie Jean — “the kid is not my son.” If Brandon Howard, now 31, is indeed Jackson’s real son, that means he resulted from an affair between the two that occurred in 1982.
Howard’s uncanny resemblance to Jackson is apparent, however, the singer has often brushed off any claims to be Jackson’s son. While appearing in a documentary with Feldman, Howard agreed to submit his DNA for testing.
Before the conference, B. Howard released a statement presented by his manager, Scott Broomfield.
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“To my fans, family, and friends, despite recent allegations, I did not authorize the testing of my DNA to be compared to that of the late Michael Jackson nor did I contact TMZ regarding the publication of the story.
This spring, I agreed to be a part of a documentary with FilmOn.TV and was asked to give a sample of my DNA. Even though I agreed to this I never expected it to be used in this manner.
To this day, I have never claimed to be Michael Jackson’s son nor do I have any intention of pursuing the family’s estate.”
Feldman, who hosts a TV show on FilmOn, is friends with Howard and was also a friend of Jackson and echoed these sentiments. Feldman stated, “Howard is a friend of mine and what many people don’t know because he’s not really that well known as an artist yet, the man is incredibly talented, like genius, incredibly music genius talented… Whatever happens today, his art is gonna shine through.”
Farro said he was asked by TMZ if Howard was Jackson’s son, which got the whole ball rolling: “I kind of have my own opinion of what I think,” he said, “and I believe he is the son of Michael Jackson.”
David said he was then hounded by TMZ like a “rabid dog,” who had already started work on the story.
“This is not how we wanted to introduce B Howard to the word…but it is historical in terms music and pop culture, how this turns out,” David said.
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David said DNA was acquired from two of the remaining Jacksons by one of FilmOn’s employees at a concert in Vegas two weekends ago, and Michael’s DNA was acquired from Goodman from an old dental impression created during a Moonwalker video that Goodman bought. According to Goodman, he purchased the impression from an auction for $5500 a year and a half ago to make a 3D model of Jackson’s teeth, a task he has yet to complete. According to Goodman, it was kept in excellent condition in a storage room until Fratto approached Goodman for the item, which he supplied and Fratto had tested.
Howard’s connections to Jackson’s family are many, both professional and personal, and David claims you can find photos online of Howard and members of the Jackson family. Historically, Howard’s father has been listed as Augie Johnson, who David says claims he is not actually Howard’s father.
After 20 minutes of deliberation, the DNA was presented in a sealed envelope. David said the evidence had been tested in two labs — one in Utah, and one in Ireland. The names of the labs, David said, could not be revealed publicly.
Finally, Goodman ripped over the envelope and concluded, “The probability of parenthood is 99 percent; we have the proof.”
David’s next move was to call Broomfield, who is also partners with Akon, David said, and collaborated with Jackson on the track “Hold My Hand” shortly before Jackson’s death.
Once David got Broomfield on the line, Broomfield emphasized once again that Howard did not go to TMZ, nor does he have any interest in pursuing a portion of Jackson’s estate. Broomfield pointed to a video statement released on Howard’s Facebook, and David then hung up on his for being “once again, too diplomatic.”
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Nussbaum and Feldman continued to display skepticism, while David and Fratto maintain that this is proof enough. “I’ve spent so much time on this,” David said. “For me, this is done.”
We spoke with Fratto after the conference, who said, “I met the kid, I believe that the kid is [Jackson’s] son. I’m a fan of MJ, but obviously when David, whose net worth is $1.9 billion, asks you to do something like [Jackson’s] DNA, you do it. And so, I was a little surprised myself that I was actually able to find the DNA. I know Dr. Goodman, so that’s what made it crazy. ”
We also spoke with Goodman, who said, “I’m as excited as everybody else, I’m watching this, I’m surprised, I’m astonished, this is huge news. I think it’s good for Brandon. He deserves to have his identity.”
“His body, his style, his voice… definitely looks like Jackson,” he continues. “There’s very clear resemblance.”
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