“Joe Jackson used to lock Michael in a closet,” my source says. “The abuse just goes on and on. Janet was also afraid of him. I once found her in the kitchen with a huge knife. She was going to use it on him.”
We get that picture. But my source continues. “I hold Katherine responsible for what happened to the children,” the source says of Michael’s mother. “She knew what was happening and let it.”
Of course, Katherine and Joseph Jackson deny abuse in their household. But Joseph Jackson is a complicated guy. On the day of Michael’s famous 30th anniversary solo show, Joe Jackson called a news conference and invited select journalists. I was one of them. It was obvious Michael had no idea this was going on. Mr. Jackson told us he was going to start selling footage of the Jackson Five for profit. He was eager to be a star himself, clearly.
I asked him though about his parental philosophy. “You have to be strict with kids,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with punishment as long as you know how to punish.”
What would be a typical punishment? “Beat his back,” Joe Jackson replied before I could even get the question out.