Joe Jackson, patriarch of the Jackson family, has died at the age of 89, according to TMZ.
Earlier this week, Jackson was hospitalized in the final stages of terminal cancer.”
Jackson, 89, has been afflicted with a number of health issues in recent years, including suffering a stroke that left him with temporarily blurred vision, multiple heart attacks, and dementia. Last year, he was in a car accident in Las Vegas, where he’s lived for the past several years.
Infamous for the physical and mental abuse he used to drive his performing children, Jackson was the architect of The Jackson 5. The original group featured Michael, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon, with the occasional inclusion of Randy. His other children LaToya, Rebbie, and most notably Janet also launched singing careers under his initial guidance.
Because of his treatment of his 11 children, the relationship between him and his offspring has often been contentious. As Jermaine told The Daily Mail, certain family members were barred from visiting Joe when he was initially hospitalized. “No one knew what was going on — we shouldn’t have to beg, plead, and argue to see our own father, especially at a time like this,” Jermaine told the paper said. “We have been hurting. We were not being told where he was and couldn’t get the full picture. Even from the doctor. My mother was worried sick.”
He continued, noting that it appears his father is on his death bed. “He’s very, very frail, he doesn’t have long. The family needs to be by his bedside — that’s our only intention in his final days.”
This is a developing story…