Joe Jackson: Omer Bhatti is Michael's son

"Yes, I knew he had another son. Yes, I did," Joe Jackson said in the interview.

Norwegian rapper and dancer Omer Bhatti has been the subject of such speculation after he sat with the Jackson family at the July 7 funeral. Initially Bhatti said it was because of his close friendship with Michael Jackson. But since then, a British newspaper has reported, Bhatti has asked for a DNA test to confirm his parentage.

Bhatti, now 25, traveled with Michael Jackson and he lived at Neverland ranch for a time, including in the mid 1990s when his mother was the nanny for Michael Jackson's oldest child.

The Jackson family sometimes referred to Bhatti as "Michael J." He often dressed like Michael Jackson.

"He looks like a Jackson. He can dance like a Jackson," Joe Jackson said in the interview. "This boy is a fantastic dancer. Matter of fact, he teaches dance."

Some doubt the 80-year-old man knows the details of Bhatti's relationship to the star.

Joe Jackson is separated from his wife, Katherine, and was estranged from his son when he died. Also, Joe Jackson was criticized for pitching his recording business when he made his first comments after Michael Jackson's death, and critics have said claiming a blood relationship to Bhatti is just another way of capitalizing on the Michael Jackson brand.

Since the funeral, Bhatti - whose stage name is O-Bee - has stayed at the Jackson family home in Encino, Calif. He has been seen playing with Michael Jackson's children - Prince Michael, Paris and Prince Michael II, it has been reported.

Bhatti's mother, Pia, and his father, who was a driver for the star, are in Oslo and have declined to respond to questions about their son's relationship to Michael Jackson.

While some who worked with Michael Jackson doubt they were father and son, others in the Jackson family have said they would welcome him to the family if it's found he is one of them.