Joe Jackson’s family has hit back at ‘nasty comments’ about the controversial patriarch following his death on Wednesday.
Jackson’s grandson Taj took to Twitter to hit back at critics who brought up how the talent manager’s own children – including Michael – had claimed he physically abused them.
‘Disgusted by some of the comments I’m reading about my grandpa Joe by those who didn’t even know him,’ Taj, the son of Tito Jackson, wrote on Wednesday.
‘Please don’t just regurgitate what you were spoon fed by the press. Joe was loved by our ENTIRE family and our hearts are in pain.’
Joe Jackson’s family has hit back at ‘nasty comments’ about the controversial patriarch following his death on Wednesday
Taj Jackson took to Twitter to hit back at critics who brought up how Joe’s own children – including Michael – claimed he had physically abused them
‘Let us grieve without the nastiness.#ripthehawk.’
‘We feel all the love and support from you guys and are extremely thankful,’ Taj later tweeted.
Jackson passed away at the age of 89 on Wednesday after battling Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Shortly after news of his death broke, many jumped on Twitter to make quips about the allegations against Jackson or criticize how he treated his children.
Parody news site The Onion tweeted a headline that stated: ‘Heavenly sources confirm Joe Jackson already screaming at Michael’.
Taj also shared a tribute to Jackson on Instagram, writing: ‘The Jackson legacy would not exist without you’
He also later thanked those who had shown ‘love and support’ after Jackson, 89, passed away from Stage 4 pancreatic cancer
Another commenter wrote that he was going to ‘whoop’ kids in honor of Jackson’s death.
‘RIP Joe Jackson. If you hear thunder that’s Michael getting an a** whooping,’ one Twitter user wrote.
‘The only thing Joe Jackson didn’t beat as it grew was cancer,’ added Tony Hinchcliffe.
‘Joe Jackson was horrible. The abuse he put Michael through is frightening stuff,’ tweeted Richard Newby.
One commenter called on people to ‘stop acting like Joe Jackson was a loving father who helped his children prosper’.
Shortly after news of Jackson’s death broke, many jumped on Twitter to make quips about the allegations against him or criticize how he treated his children
‘He was an abuser who inflicted so much physical and psychological pain onto his children, it caused Michael to change his entire appearance and fear his own father,’ she added.
Stories of Jackson’s abuse began to spread in the 1980s, and in 1991 his daughter La Toya claimed he molested her when she was a child.
‘When your father gets out of bed with your mother and gets into bed with his daughter and you hear the mother saying, “No, Joe, not tonight. Let her rest. Leave her alone, she’s tired”, that makes you crazy,’ she wrote in her memoir.
But Jackson perhaps suffered the biggest blow to his life and career when Michael spoke to Oprah Winfrey in 1993.
Appearing on her eponymous talk show, Michael went into great detail about the emotional and physical abuse he endured during his ‘lonely’ childhood.
He spoke of being forced to constantly rehearse, and once recalled his father sitting in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his brothers practiced.
‘If you didn’t do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you,’ Michael said.
Stories of Jackson’s abuse began to leak into the media in the 1980s, but he suffered the biggest blow to his life and career when Michael spoke to Oprah Winfrey in 1993. Jackson and Michael are pictured here in 1973
He spoke of being forced to constantly rehearse, and once recalled his father sitting in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his brothers practiced. The pair are pictured here in 2005
The Oprah interview remains the most watched interview in television history, with 90 million people tuning in to hear Michael speak openly for the first time in 14 years.
It would also be one of his last interviews, as he retreated from the public eye soon after in the wake of allegations that he had sexually molested young boys.
Jackson, despite his son’s comments to Winfrey, stood by Michael’s side throughout the trials that followed and often accompanied Michael to court.
And now it appears Jackson’s family is standing by him, with his children and grandchildren all posting tributes on Wednesday.
La Toya Jackson took to Twitter to tell her father ‘I will always love you!’
La Toya Jackson (pictured with her father and sister Janet in 1983) had also made claims in the past that he molested her when she was a child
But La Toya was one of the first to pen a tribute to her father on Twitter following his death
Jackson’s grandson Randy, the son of Randy Jackson, also shared a tribute to the patriarch
Prince Jackson, Michael’s 21-year-old son, called Jackson an ‘example of sheer will power and dedication’
‘You gave us strength, you made us one of the most famous families in the world,’ she wrote.
‘I am extremely appreciative of that, I will never forget our moments together and how you told me how much you cared. #RIP Joe Jackson.’
Prince Jackson, Michael’s 21-year-old son, called Jackson an ‘example of sheer will power and dedication’.
‘He didn’t choose the path that was the easiest, but he chose the path that was best for his family,’ Prince wrote on Instagram, sharing a photo of himself with Jackson.
‘You taught me to take pride in the Jackson name and what it really means, you taught me dedication in the face of adversity and most of all you showed me strength and fearlessness.’
‘There is and never will be someone like you. Fly free and until we meet again The Hawk.’
Michael, Randy and Jermaine of the Jackson 5 pose for a portrait with their parents in 1970