LOS ANGELES -- Five ex-bodyguards of Michael Jackson filed suit Thursday against the pop star accusing him of harassment and threats aimed at keeping them from speaking out about the child molestation case against him.

Meanwhile, Jackson's mother and brother spoke up in his defense on the very tabloid television shows that have devoted considerable air time in the last three months to the sordid story.


Katherine Jackson and his brother Jermaine told 'Hard Copy,' the same show that interviewed the bodyguards, that thay wanted to refute all the negative stories of recent weeks.

Jermaine, also interviewed by 'Inside Edition,' said his brother feels the accusations by the 13-year-old boy are 'just another part of his success.'

The bodyguards -- Morris Williams, Leroy A. Thomas, Donald Starks, Fred Hammond and Aaron White -- sued Jackson, his investigator Anthony Pellicano, MJJ Productions Inc. and others for alleged harassing phone calls and threatening gestures, including a driver attempting to strike one bodyguard on a bicycle and shots fired through the window of another's workplace.

The five have told 'Hard Copy' that they hoped the allegations against Jackson were not true but they believed it was possible they were.