Just days after he was hospitalized for late-stage cancer, Joe Jackson has passed away. The patriarch of the iconic Jackson family was 89 years old.
Joe started the famous Jackson 5 group, composed of five of his kids, which went on to make it to the Grammy Award Hall of Fame.
Joe had been battling illness for years, with many trips in and out of the hospital. In 2015, he suffered a stroke as well as three heart attacks. Doctors implanted a pacemaker with the hopes of stabilizing the music producer.
In 2016, Joe was hospitalized with a high fever, but seemed to bounce back just fine as he was seen in Vegas at a party.
Joe may have had a lot of success professionally, but his kids confessed that he was emotionally and physically abusive towards them when they were growing up. It was so bad that Michael Jackson wrote into his will that only his mother, Katherine, was to gain custody of his kids in the event of his passing.
Joe admitted to this abuse, using mainly a belt to beat his kids, but didn't apologize for the behavior. He said it helped further their success.
"I don't [regret the beatings]," he said in 2010. "It kept them out of jail and kept them right. I don't think [Michael] was afraid of me. What he was afraid of, he may do something wrong and I'd chastise him but not beat him. I never beat him like the media tried to say."
He also said that over the years, he lost touch with his kids. Even after his heart attacks, only two family members came to see him.
"When I suffered four strokes last year and was in the hospital recovering, only two people in my family traveled all the way to see me," he wrote in 2014. "My granddaughter Brandi [Jackie Jackson's daughter] and my baby girl, Janet."
But despite all the family drama, Jermaine Jackson and many others tried to visit the ailing Joe in the days leading up to his death. However, it wasn't easy. Jermaine said that Joe's handler banned the family from seeing him.
"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 confirmed to the Daily Mail. "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."
Eventually, the family was allowed in to say their goodbyes to Joe. He passed away at 3:30am on June 27 in Los Angeles.
