Michael Jacksons father admits he beat his kids

During a sensational interview with US talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey, Jackson admitted hitting his kids with a strap.

“I don’t [regret the beatings],” he said. “It kept them out of jail and kept them right.”

During the interview, which airs on US TV this afternoon, Jackson was initially defensive about his relationship with his son Michael, insisting: “I don’t think he was afraid of me. I never beat him. That never happened.”

But he was forced to reveal the truth when his wife, Katherine, stepped in.

“You might as well admit it. That’s the way black people raised their children,” she interjected.

“He used a strap,” she added.

Katherine also revealed for the first time that the King of Pop was addicted to plastic surgery and had hated his appearance since adolescence.

She also rubbished his claims that he only ever had two operations – both on his nose – and said that he was just too embarrassed to tell the truth.

“He had more than two, he was just embarrassed,” she said. “I hear that people get addicted to plastic surgery and I think that’s what happened to him…”