Warning: Claim to Fame Season 3 spoilers ahead. Claim to Fame has featured the relatives of celebrities like Tom Hanks, Dolly Parton, and President Jimmy Carter, but none of them have even come close to who Dedrick is related to on Claim to Fame Season 3.
More: Claim to Fame Season 3 spoilers and who each contestant is related to
Dedrick is one of 11 contestants on Season 3 of Claim to Fame, ABC’s reality TV series where contestants—each with a secret celebrity relative—must correctly guess their competitors claims to fame, while keeping their own unknown. The series, which is hosted by brothers Kevin Jonas and Frankie Jonas, has featured the relatives of celebrities like Lil Nas X, Simone Biles, Cindy Crawford, and Donny Osmond, but none of them compare to level of fame of Dedrick’s relative on Claim to Fame Season 3.
Dedrick’s celebrity relative is the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson. Dedrick, whose real name is Sigmund “Siggy” Esco Jackson Jr., is Michael’s nephew. Dedrick hinted at his celebrity relative in the cliffhanger of Season 3, Episode 1, when he accidentally referred to himself as “Mr. Jackson,” which led fellow contestant, Naomi, to speculate that he was related to Michael.
Dedrick’s two truths and a lie also confirm that Michael is his celebrity relative. His two truths and a lie were that his celebrity relative is his uncle, a singer and has won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. Dedrick’s father—Sigmund Esco “Jackie” Jackson—is Michael’s older brother, making him Dedrick’s uncle. That means that Dedrick’s lie was that his celebrity relative won the Grammy for Best Rock Song. Though Michael has won 13 Grammys—including the award for “Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male” in 1984 for the song “Beat It”—he has never won the Grammy for Best Rock Song, which is awarded to the songwriter and not the recording artist.
The clues on the wall that support Michael as Dedrick’s celebrity relative include a scarecrow, Michael’s character in the 1978 movie the Wiz, as well as a white fedora hat with a crown, a reference to Michael’s 1987 “Smooth Criminal” music video outfit and his title as the King of Pop.
Because Michael is his uncle, that also means that Dedrick’s aunts are singers and Michael’s sisters, Janet and La Toya Jackson. Michael, who died in 2009 at the age 50, is one of only three deceased celebrity relatives to be featured on Claim to Fame after actor Dean Martin, the grandfather of Season 1 contestant Pepper, and actor Marlon Brando, the grandfather of Dedrick’s Season 3 cast mate Shane. Dedrick, like his uncle, is also a musician. He’s released music as the hip hop artist Dealz and has ghostwritten for several independent artists.
Who’s Michael Jackson, Dedrick’s relative?
If you’re the only person in the world who doesn’t know who Dedrick’s relative is, Michael was a singer and a member of the Motown group, the Jackson 5, with his older brothers, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Jackie (Dedrick’s father.) He started his solo career in 1971 and went on to release 13 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 including “Rock With You,” “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” and “Man in the Mirror,” earning him the nickname, the King of Pop.
Michael, who is credited for popularizing dance moves such as the moonwalk and the robot, is regarded as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with an estimated 500 million-plus records sold worldwide. He also holds 39 Guinness World Records, including the “Most Successful Entertainer of All Time.” He died in June 25, 2009, of acute propofol intoxication. He was 50 years old. Michael was found in his bedroom by his personal physician, Conrad Murray, who administered CPR to no avail. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner later ruled Michael’s death a homicide. Murray, who had administered Michael propofol, benzodiazepines lorazepam, and midazolam before his death, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Michael is one of 12 siblings. Along with his fellow Jackson 5 members, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Jackie, Michael’s other siblings include Joe, Katherine, Rebbie, La Toya, Brandon, Randy, and Janet. He was married to Elvis and Priscilla Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, from 1994 to 1996. He was married to his second wife, Debbie Rowe, from 1996 to 2000. Jackson shares two children with Rowe: daughter Paris and son Prince. He also has another son, Bigi, who was born via an unknown surrogate.
Claim to Fame is available to stream on Hulu.
