by Josh Grossberg
Nov 19, 2002, 2:30 PM PT
For those few remaining doubters, this stunt might prove Michael Jackson really is off the wall, bad and dangerous.
Jacko spooked hundreds of fans in Berlin Tuesday, as he dangled a baby over a fourth-floor balcony railing.
According to media reports, Jackson, infant in arms, walked out onto the veranda to wave at the screaming crowd gathered in a downtown square below his suite at the opulent Adlon Hotel, who were hoping to sneak a peek of the reclusive King of Pop.
Instead of cheering, though, the throng was notably stunned when Jackson held the light-skinned, barefoot child over the metal railing for a few seconds with one hand. The baby–who had a white towel covering his (or her) face–appeared to struggle until a grinning Jackson finally lifted the tyke back up to safety.
Before disappearing back inside his room, the 44-year-old music legend also showed off another youngster, who appeared to be about four or five years old and was also covered with a white cloth to hide his/her identity. Jackson waved but did not address the fans.
While Jackson’s U.S. reps were unable to confirm the identity of the dangled child, a German source said it was Jackson’s third and youngest, Prince Michael II.
The world’s most famous surgical mask modeler officially has two progeny conceived with ex-wife/personal assistant Debbie Rowe–a five-year-old son named Prince Michael and a four-year-old daughter, Paris.
Little is known of Prince Michael II beyond what was reported in People in August. The boy is going on nine months old, is nicknamed “No. 3” and was not adopted, according to the magazine. There is no word on the child’s mother.
Jackson–on hiatus from a $21 million breach-of-contract trial in Santa Maria, California–is in the German capital with his brood to accept the Bambi Entertainment Award on Thursday honoring his work for homeless children. Jackson is also supposed to preside over a charity auction where he will put one of his jackets and a hat on the block.
The singer is being sued by his longtime German concert promoter for nixing two millennium concerts. Jackson spent three days on the stand last week, holding forth on how he is too busy being “a visionary” to worry about contract details and producing what’s become one of the most talked-about photos in ages (at least until his baby-dangling snapshots start making the email rounds). He’s due back in court next week.