The King of Pop's Pop has died

June 27, 2018 11:53 AM

RIP Joseph Jackson, 89. His website. Patriarch of the Jackson family, he beat his children and was not named in his famous son's will. He was memorably portrayed by Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs in the 1992 miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream. Variety obit. TMZ "exclusive".
posted by Melismata (18 comments total)

I'm glad this article doesn't shy away from how horrible of a person he was. Too often death seems to be some sort of absolution to some people, as if dying is somehow such a tragic event they are forgiven and must be spoken of and remembered fondly -- as if you can never feel relief or happiness someone has left this world.

"In 2014, a New York Post reporter asked Joseph Jackson whether he had any regrets about his life or about how hard he had driven his family.

“Not at all,” he said. “I don’t live that way.

That really says it all to me, that to me indicates this is a person who has not repented or accepted responsibility for their actions.
posted by GoblinHoney at 12:13 PM on June 27, 2018 [10 favorites]

Michael’s biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli recounted that Joe Jackson had once put on a fright mask and crawled into Michael’s bedroom through a window at night, screaming; Joe Jackson said his purpose was to teach his son to keep the window closed when he slept. For years afterward Michael suffered nightmares about being kidnapped from his room, and said that whenever he saw his father he felt nauseated.

Good riddance to a horrible person.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 12:27 PM on June 27, 2018 [14 favorites]

I don't know if RIP is the phrase I would use.
posted by maxsparber at 12:33 PM on June 27, 2018

I don't know if RIP is the phrase I would use.

This is a rare time that it seems appropriate to me. I have always read RIP as sarcastic or said with ill intent. I have no idea where that idea comes from but I haven't been able to shake it - only to stop after I think that and remember that other people rarely intend it that way. But in this case, for me, RIP Joe Jackson.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 12:44 PM on June 27, 2018

"He was memorably portrayed by Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs in the 1992 miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream"

Yeah, I still have quotes from that popping into my head on a monthly basis, 26 years later.
posted by kevinbelt at 12:47 PM on June 27, 2018 [2 favorites]

On Twitter: The only thing Joe Jackson didn’t beat as it grew was cancer.

Meanwhile, the other Joe Jackson is ok & touring.
posted by chavenet at 12:50 PM on June 27, 2018 [11 favorites]

I always suspected that Michael Jackson was so obsessed with cosmetic surgery because when he looked into a mirror he didn't want to see anyone who looked remotely like his father.
posted by King Sky Prawn at 12:53 PM on June 27, 2018 [18 favorites]

From the Variety piece: “I whipped [Michael] with a switch and a belt…[but] I never beat him. You beat someone with a stick.”

He also nicknamed Michael "Big Nose." Michael was rumored to have had over a dozen rhinoplasties throughout his life, each time making his nose thinner until it practically vanished.

Nothing nice to say here. He was a horrible human being.

I hope his remaining children remain healthy and continue to thrive now that he's gone.
posted by zarq at 12:57 PM on June 27, 2018 [12 favorites]

Meanwhile, the other Joe Jackson is ok & touring.

Yes, I saw "Joe Jackson" trending on twitter and for a moment my heart sank.
posted by octobersurprise at 1:04 PM on June 27, 2018 [5 favorites]

I can't seem to read anything about that family without ending up shaking and crying.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:21 PM on June 27, 2018 [5 favorites]

Good.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 1:28 PM on June 27, 2018 [2 favorites]

I remember seeing an interview of him at his son's funeral. He kept going on and on about some DVD he was selling, saying nothing about Michael or expressing any grief. Finally the interviewer asked, "Do you realize your son died?" "Yes, it's very sad. Now, you can get my DVD at..."
posted by dirigibleman at 1:29 PM on June 27, 2018 [3 favorites]

He did that in every interview after Michael's death. Every damned interview.
posted by zarq at 1:33 PM on June 27, 2018 [2 favorites]

My thoughts are with his children, whose grief may very well be complicated as fuuuuuck. When a shitty parent dies, along with them dies the hope of ever having a different relationship with them, and that can be incredibly difficult to cope with. Here's hoping they can find strength in each other and in their loved ones.
posted by palomar at 3:17 PM on June 27, 2018 [19 favorites]

Michael Jackson gave a speech at Oxford University in 2001. You can read a transcript at that link. Partially, he speaks on Joseph and his conflicted feelings towards him.
posted by girlmightlive at 4:09 PM on June 27, 2018 [3 favorites]

Well, I'm guessing, right about now, he's bunking next to Murry Wilson in a very, very warm place.
posted by the sobsister at 6:38 PM on June 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

RIP here means 'rot in purgatory'
posted by Merus at 8:08 PM on June 27, 2018 [2 favorites]

He also nicknamed Michael "Big Nose." Michael was rumored to have had over a dozen rhinoplasties throughout his life, each time making his nose thinner until it practically vanished.

It's a pretty big change from this to this.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:22 PM on June 27, 2018