TMZ Live

Michael Jackson went to such extremes to hide his children from the public, it seems shocking they're doing a reality TV series -- but Prince, Paris and Blanket are only doing what they want to do ... according to their cousins.

TJ Jackson and his brothers Taryll and Taj joined us on TMZ Live to talk about "The Jacksons: Next Generation." TJ has a unique perspective on how Michael's kids are raised ... since he was named their legal co-guardian a few years ago.

Tito's sons revealed why their younger cousins were starting to feel trapped by their secluded lifestyle -- and it sounds like the Lifetime docuseries is giving them a chance to turn that around.

Check it out ... TJ seems wise beyond his 37 years, and talks about wanting to make his uncle MJ proud.

Momma Dee can breathe a sigh of relief ... because she won't be charged for allegedly skipping out on a $500 restaurant bill.

The "Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta" star called into TMZ Live to tell her side of the story -- that she got stuck with another party's check after a trip to the bathroom, and was wrongfully arrested.

The Milwaukee D.A.'s office saw it Dee's way, because they declined to prosecute based on lack of evidence.

The lesson here: Don't mess with Momma Dee.

Justin Bieber's BFF Lil Za had a better chance of fighting a jail cellmate than taking on an opponent in a boxing ring -- but the guy's turned his life around, and now he's throwing KO punches.

Za got pretty famous for getting in a ton of trouble with Bieber over the last couple of years -- he was busted for drugs during the infamous egging raid in Calabasas. The 21-year-old tells us, "When all that madness was going on, I decided to grab a hold of myself and do something positive."

Za's been training hard for the last year, and as you can tell from the video ... kid's got some skills. He came on TMZ Live to tell us about making the big change.