EXCLUSIVE: Video of Michael Jackson and Omer Bhatti on Jet Ski Raises More Questions
Former Jackson friend speculates Joe Jackson may have business plans for Bhatti.
Aug. 3, 2009— -- The two gleefully zoomed on top of the water, enjoying a beach vacation the way any other family members would.
But who really was that boy seen in the video footage on the back on Michael Jackson's jet ski during a 1997 trip to South Africa -- a close family friend, or his son?
In the video, obtained exclusively by "Good Morning America," the two climbed out of the water and Omer Bhatti leaned over to Jackson, telling him something cameras didn't pick up.
"He wants to go again," Jackson said.
Increasing attention is being paid to Bhatti, now a 25-year-old aspiring rapper from Oslo, Norway, as questions swirl about the nature of his relationship with the King of Pop.
Jackson had been known to take up close friendship with children in the past, even bringing them along on his world tours. But none of those other children got a front row seat to Jackson's memorial service, dressed like Jackson's own brothers and sat with the family.
In pictures from the 1990s, Bhatti bears a resemblance to Jackson and not only because of their similarity in clothing. He also, more strikingly, seems to share features with Jackson's youngest son, Prince Michael II, 7, also known as Blanket.
Bhatti's mother Pia Bhatti, a former Jackson nanny, has denied that her son is Michael Jackson's son, but there are plenty of people who believe the contrary.
Jackson's father Joe Jackson is recently admitted that his most famous son may have four -- not three -- children.
"I knew he had another son, yes, I did," Joe Jackson said last week in an interview with TV One. "He looks like a Jackson, he can dance like a Jackson. This boy is fantastic dancer -- matter of fact, he teaches dance."
After the Jet-Sskiing, the video shows the duo of Jackson and Bhatti prepping for a parasailing trip and the soaring above the water. Jackson even took off his trademark fedora, saying later, "I wanted to see if I could hold onto my hat."
In a separate clip, Jackson can be seen introducing Bhatti to Nelson Mandela.
Jackson's inner circle at the time even questioned the superstar on whether Bhatti was just a close friend or a substitute for the children he did not yet have. Former Jackson friend Marc Schaffel said Jackson denied rumors that Bhatti was his son.
"Michael had told me very specifically to my face -- and I have no reason to believe he was lying to me at the time -- that that story was not true," Schaffel told "Good Morning America."
Omer Bhatti in recent years.
Jermaine Jackson said Jackson's eldest sister Rebbie seated Bhatti up front next to the family.
"My sister went and got him during the service and got him to sit closer to my mother," Jermaine Jackson said.
Since the memorial service, Bhatti has remained in Los Angeles and been seen playing at the Jackson family compound with Michael Jackson's three children -- Prince, Paris and Prince II -- according to the Daily Mail.
Omer Bhatti impersonating his idol.
Bhatti became a Jackson impersonator. Now he's an aspiring rapper who goes by the stage name O-Bee.
"Nobody called him Omer, they called him Michael J.," said Brown. "Ever since he was a little boy he would make himself up to look like Michael. They would wear the same -- hat, pants, shoes, even socks. Michael loved it."
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