Janet Jackson stunned the audience at Sunday's BET Awards in Los Angeles by taking to the stage to pay an emotional tribute to her brother Michael.

In her first public appearance since the star's death Janet thanked fans around the world for their outpouring of support.

She said: "My entire family wanted to be here tonight but it was just to painful. So they elected me to speak to you.

"To you, Michael is an icon. To us, Michael is family. He will forever live in all of our hearts."

"On behalf of my family and myself thank you for all of your love, thank you for all of your support. We miss him so much."

Michael's father Joseph was also at the event, and spoke briefly with reporters on the red carpet, telling them: "I wish the world had recognised him when he was living. Right now, he's bigger than ever.

“But I wish he was here to see all this, to hear all this."

When asked whether he was worried about the people and events that surrounded his son's death, he said: "Yes I am. I have a lot of concerns. I can't get into that but I don't like what happened."

Joe also sparked outrage by plugging his record label during a live interview with CNN television.

As he introduced his business partner, he said: "This is Marshall here. I wasn't to make this statement. This is a real good statement here. Marshall and I we own a record company called - (to Marshall) tell him."

'Marshall' then cut in to add: "Ranch Records, its driven by Blu-ray technology, that's his next step."

Stars including Ne-Yo, Ciara and a newly-reformed New Edition paid musical tributes to the pop legend, while host Jamie Foxx executed a passable moon walk.

Meanwhile, Michael Jackson fans continue to pay tribute to their idol at makeshift shrines around the world.