Jacko denies awards snub

Michael Jackson has blasted claims he was too busy to appear at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) awards, branding the allegations "false and defamatory".

The singer was asked to appear at the BET ceremony in Los Angeles on June 26 to perform a special 'Thriller' album tribute and to present his mentor Diana Ross with a Lifetime Achievement Award - but American news agencies claimed Jackson was "too incapacitated to appear".