EXCLUSIVE: Michael Jackson's Closest Religious Confidant Insists King of Pop's Kids Are Biologically His After Years of Paternity Rumors

Michael Jackson's former spiritual adviser Rabbi Shmuley Boteach has forcefully defended the late singer's role as father to his three children, condemning decades of speculation about their biological parentage and insisting it is both unfair and harmful to question the family publicly.

RadarOnline.com can reveal Boteach, 59, who was once among Jackson's closest confidants before their friendship collapsed over the star's practice of sharing beds with children, revisited the controversy during a recent interview with DJ Vlad.

The discussion, posted online, soon turned to longstanding rumors surrounding Jackson's children – Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., known as Prince, 29, Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson, 28, and Prince Michael Jackson II, known as Bigi, 24.

Since Jackson's death in 2009 at age 50 from a massive drugs overdose, speculation has persisted over whether the children are biologically related to the King of Pop, fueled by their appearance, claims involving sperm donors and comments attributed to people within Jackson's circle.

Speaking about Prince and Paris, whom he knew personally, Boteach strongly rejected suggestions Jackson was not their biological father.

He hit out: "I was with (Michael) when Prince was three and Paris was two. And I never met Blanket."

"We had that conversation (about whether they were biologically his children) many times. And I have to tell you, and may I say respectfully, Vlad, because you and I are like buddies and brothers now, right?

"Facial hair, the beard thing going on, right? And now that we established that you're the most orthodox Jew that ever lived, I bet by the end of this interview, you will probably sprout sidewalks that like touch all the way down to your butt.

"But who are we to ever tell a parent that a child is not theirs? I think it's – respectfully, you seem to me to be an ethical and moral man – and I think it's an unethical and immoral observation.

"Do your kids have your ears? Do they have your lips? Do you have their It's just not a fair thing to say. Michael said they're his kids. It's just not fair."

The rabbi argued public debate over parentage risks causing unnecessary pain to Jackson's children, who have spent much of their lives under intense scrutiny. Boteach said he regarded the issue as a moral one rather than a biological question, insisting that parenthood should not be reduced to genetics alone.

He also pushed back against suggestions every family in the US should be subjected to proof of biological ties, comparing it to a vision of a dystopian society or dictatorship.

Boateach raged: "Are we going to really start playing this game around America of whose kids are really theirs? I mean, God almighty, that's a scary that would be a scary world. That sounds like The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu, a show I actually really like.

"So, you want every kid in America to have a DNA test to make sure that they're actually the children of the parents who claim them as their own? Do you really want to live in a world like that's the Handmaids?

"That sounds like freaking Putin's Russia or communist China. I'm not living in that damn world."

Boateach added to presenter Vlad – who has also posted a string of posts about Sean 'Diddy' Combs: "It's not your business. Michael said they're his kids. It's not your business. And you would say to anyone who told you the same thing. If your son grows up to look very different to you and people start saying, you know, 'I don't know, (they) don't look like his (children),' you would probably not like them very much."

Rumors surrounding the children's parentage have circulated for years.

Prince and Paris were born during Jackson's marriage to Debbie Rowe, now 67, while Bigi was born through a surrogate mother whose identity has never been publicly disclosed.

Some reports have alleged anonymous sperm donors were used, while others have pointed to Jackson's longtime dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein as a possible biological father of the older children.

Former child actor Mark Lester and Jackson's former bodyguard Matt Fiddes have also publicly claimed they could be the biological father of one or more of the children and have previously called for DNA testing.

Supporters of Jackson have long disputed those claims, citing physical similarities between the children and members of the wider Jackson family. Prince has also been photographed with skin markings resembling vitiligo, the condition that famously affected his father.