Matt Lauer ventured to Neverland Ranch for an in-depth interview with Michael Jackson's older brother Jermaine on the Today show this morning - the first with any Jackson family member since the death of MJ.

What did Jermaine have to say? (We've embedded the vid below for you to watch in full.) He talks about his mother Katherine's reaction to the situation, as well as his own:

    "She was crying, saying he was dead. And Matt, to hear my mother say, ‘Michael is dead,’ to feel and hear the tone in her voice to say her child is dead, is nothing that anyone can ever imagine... He went too soon. I wish that it was me. I’ve always felt that I was his backbone, someone to be there for him. I was there and he was sort of like Moses. The things he couldn’t say, I would say them."


But the most interesting point he brought up was Michael's children's viewing of the body. Jermaine explains that a hospital therapist thought it best that Prince, Paris and Blanket see their father's dead body so they could understand what had happened.

    "I know it’s tough, but I think it was the best thing to do. At first I was against it, but what do you say if you don’t show them?"


Hmm, do you agree with this? The children's ages are 12, 11 and 7 - is it appropriate for them to be put in that position? A necessary part of the grieving process?