Joe Jackson's grandson tells critics: 'Let us grieve without the nastiness'
The patriarch of the Jackson family died at age 89.
Joe Jackson, the patriarch of the infamous Jackson family, died Tuesday evening after years of battling various health issues, including a recent bout with cancer. He was 89.
Still, his grandson, Taj Jackson, a member of R&B group 3T, wrote on Twitter that he's "disgusted by some of the comments I’m reading about my grandpa Joe by those who didn’t even know him."
"Please don't just regurgitate what you were spoon fed by the press," he added. "Joe was loved by our ENTIRE family and our hearts are in pain. Let us grieve without the nastiness."
Some online have criticized Joe Jackson for how he disciplined his 11 children with wife Katherine Jackson. The couple raised the family in a three-bedroom home in Gary, Indiana. It was there that Jackson, a guitar player from a failed blues band, formed The Jackson 5 with his sons, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael.
Joe Jackson addressed his approach to parenting in a 2013 interview with CNN: "I had to be like that way because during those times, it was hard, and you have a lot of gangs there, you know, in the area where we were living."
"This was Gary, Indiana, and I had to make sure that they didn't get in any type of trouble, and things of that sort," he added.
Along with Taj Jackson, who issued a warning to fans, other family members and celebrities remembered the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Famer with kinder words.