Ladies' man Michael Jackson

Mar 9, 2010, 19:42 GMT

Michael Jackson was a ladies' man, according to his bodyguards.

The late pop legend was dogged by rumours regarding his sexuality throughout the latter part of his life, but according to his trusted security team - Mike Garcia, Bill Whitfield and Javon 'BJ' Beard - he was a heterosexual guy with normal desires.

Whitfield said: "Being a man, men know men, and we were around him long enough to know he was a man."

Garcia added: "He had desires of women like we do. He had lovers. In the cars that we had, we had a curtain that covered the back seat. You couldn't see in the back seat. They talked back there; they didn't do nothing out of bounds. You could hear the kissing."

Jackson was accused of sexually abusing 13-year-old Jordan Chandler in 1993 but settled out of court with the Chandler family in January 1994 for $22 million.

In 2003, he was again accused of child molestation by Gavin Arvizo but was acquitted of all charges brought against him in the 2005 trial.

The three men - who were referred to as the singer's 'Inner Circle' during their appearance on TV show 'Good Morning America' - also insisted he was a great father to his three children, Prince Michael, 13, Paris, 11, and eight-year-old Prince Michael II, who is known as 'Blanket'.

Garcia said: "The kids were constantly saying, 'I love you, daddy.' They were like four buddies."

Jackson - who passed away last June aged 50 - was also fiercely protective of his kids and would make his security team scour and remove magazines carrying news about him when the family were out in public.

Whitfield recalled: "I'd be ahead of him, because I know he's coming this way, and I'm looking at magazine racks that may have something about him on them and I'll turn it around.

"Sometimes he'd see them, and you would actually see him take them and turn them around so the kids didn't see them."