THEY were close.

So close, that Michael Jackson's sister Janet could not bear to read the news for weeks after her superstar brother's death.

But the 43-year-old singer finally opened up in an interview in Harper's Bazaar on how she had been coping with his death on 25 Jun.

A report in New York Daily News quoted her saying in the interview: 'People can have rhinoceros skin, but there's a point when something's going to hurt you.

'Not everyone is stone, stone. I haven't watched the news in weeks... I haven't read a newspaper.'

The last time she saw her brother alive was on 14May at a family event two days before her birthday.

She recalled: 'We had so much fun that day... he would laugh so hard, he would just start crying.

'We kept calling each other after and saying how great it was.'

She added: 'Sometimes, his humour would be corny, sometimes dry.

'He loved the Three Stooges, he loved slapstick, he loved Eddie Murphy in his silly comedies.

'He loved to have fun. He loved to play... He has just got so much love, and so much heart, and so much power through his music.

'People have told me, 'I am an American citizen because of your brother.'

When she was a 14-year-old, it was Janet's job to take care of her superstar brother, who was eight years older than her.

Shopped for her brother

According to ABC News, she told the magazine: 'I would shop for him. I washed his clothes and cleaned his room. When mother would go out of town, she would say, 'I'm leaving you in charge. Take care of Michael.'

Her older brother might have loved the bling, but he would wear out his shoes, right down to the soles.

She recalled: 'His penny loafers would have huge holes in the bottom.'

The two siblings also appeared together in a 1995 music video for their song, Scream.

In 2002, Janet told TV journalist Diane Sawyer how important her brothers were to her.

She had said: 'I was close to my brothers growing up, and I missed them a great deal when they would go out on tour.'

Janet was in Atlanta on the set of her upcoming Tyler Perry movie when she heard the tragic news of her brother's death.

She immediately flew back to Los Angeles to grieve with her family and was on hand for the memorial service at the Staples Center during which Michael's daughter Paris spoke.

Of the girl's impromptu but brief tribute at the memorial, Janet said: 'I was really proud.

'People said to me that Michael's daughter speaking gave them a sense of how he was as a father, in her words. Paris is incredibly smart; they are all so smart.

'The kids are doing well. They're with all their cousins; family love will keep them going.'

Janet will honour Michael during a special appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards this Sunday.

This article was first published in The New Paper.