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La Toya Jackson says Michael was ‘God-like’

Says her brother looked ‘absolutely fabulous’ when he was laid to rest

Image: "20/20"
La Toya Jackson, left, discusses the death of her brother, pop icon Michael Jackson, in an interview with Barbara Walters for ABC News' "20/20", airing Friday, Sept. 11 at 10:00 p.m. EDT.
Donna Svennevik / AP
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updated 9:48 p.m. ET Sept. 10, 2009

NEW YORK - La Toya Jackson says her brother Michael looked “absolutely fabulous” when he was laid to rest last week.

In an interview on ABC’s “20/20,” she tells Barbara Walters that the “King of Pop” was dressed in white pearl beads and a big gold belt, “like a belt that you win being a boxer.”

“His hair was done beautifully, his makeup was done beautifully,” she says.

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A pair of sunglasses and a white glove were among the items placed in the casket with him.

Michael Jackson’s death on June 25 from a fatal combination of drugs has been labeled a homicide by the coroner’s office. Prosecutors are still investigating, and no charges have been filed. But La Toya Jackson says she blames her brother’s death on “any and everybody” who gave him drugs.

“They’re doctors!” she says. “This is going against their license.”

She calls her brother “special,” explaining that “he wasn’t God, but he was certainly God-like. He was the closest thing to a god that I knew.”

The interview is scheduled to air Friday at 10 p.m. Eastern.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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