Jackson dad defends record label plug

The father of Michael Jackson has denied using his son's death to promote a new business venture.

Joe Jackson has been criticised for plugging his record label in an interview at the BET Awards on Sunday, just four days after the 'Thriller' star passed away.

After paying tribute to his late son, he told CNN that he wanted to make a "real good statement" and proceeded to promote his Ranch Records project.

Despite video footage appearing to show the 80-year-old offering the information willingly, he told reporters at a press conference yesterday that he mentioned the record label as a legitimate response to a query.

"I was asked a question last night about the record company. We have a lot of good artists fixing to come out," he said.

"I was asked that question and I answered just like it was asked because they wanted to know what else I was doing."

The Rev Al Sharpton, a family friend, later insisted that Jackson's comments had been "misinterpreted", saying: "He said it and went because he wanted to send a signal to the world that the Jackson family's going to continue doing what Michael did."

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