Debbie Rowe Defends, Praises Michael Jackson's Parenting

Debbie Rowe says she will likely fight for custody of Prince Michael I, 12, and Paris Jackson, 11 - her two children with Michael Jackson - at a July 13 hearing.

But six years ago, Rowe said she never wanted to be a mother.

"Parenting is an art; you earn it," Rowe said. "Because you give birth and impregnate someone does not automatically give you the title of mother or father."

"You have to earn that title. My kids don’t call me mom because I don’t want them to," she went on. "They are Michael’s children. It’s not that they are not my children, but I had them because I wanted him to be a father."

After she and Michael Jackson divorced in 1999 after three years of marriage, Debbie agreed to give up her parental rights, insisting he was a good father.

Debbie Rowe also lambasted critics who claimed she abandoned her kids.

"They say, 'I can't believe she left her children.' Left them? I did not leave my children. My children are with their father where they are supposed to be."

Asked why the children are not with her, she said, "I didn't do it to be a mother. Like I said, you earn that title. I did not change diapers. I didn’t get up in the middle of the night - even when I was there. Michael did it all."

"I am telling you that he is the most brilliant father. Almost before the baby needed something, he knew what it was. And that's not for me."

Rowe - who insists she is the biological mother of Prince and Paris Jackson - added that she never wanted children before she wed Michael.

"If it hadn't been for how much I love him and because of our relationship, I would never have had children," she said. "And how spoiled am I? I get to go through the whole experience with a loving, caring person. I'm the one who feels selfish."

Click to enlarge more Debbie Rowe pictures through the years ...

[Photos: Fame Pictures]