Joe Jackson, Leave Those Kids Alone!

According to Jackson family biographer, Ian Halperin, family patriarch Joe Jackson wants to organize Michael’s three children into a singing trio known as the Jackson 3.  Former manager of the Jackson 5, Joe Jackson (Michael’s father) already has a world tour in mind for the three children—Prince Michael (12), Paris (11), and Prince Michael II aka “Blanket” (7). (Full story)

Is it just me or is anyone else feeling the urge to punch Joe Jackson in the face and yell, “Joe Jackson, you leave those kids alone”?  It can’t just be me.

First of all, Michael’s three children are in a fragile state—they just lost their father.  Getting ready for a world tour isn’t generally part of a grief recovery plan, ya know?

Second, after hearing Michael and La Toya’s stories about how Jackson was an abusive father who mocked his children, is Joe Jackson really fit to be around these kids, much less managing their careers?

Third, Michael had stated repeatedly that his childhood was ripped away from him as he performed before sold-out auditoriums when all he really wanted to do was climb on the jungle gym like normal kids.  Why, then, would Michael want to subject his children to a lifestyle that made him famous, but also tore him up?  He did put masks on their faces when he went out in public to shield them from the public eye.

No doubt Joe Jackson doesn’t see his grandchildren as children, merely as money-makers to continue the Jackson family legacy.  Using kids to make money…in other countries, they call it child slavery.  In the United States, they call it the entertainment business.  OK, that was a little harsh because some kids really do want to be singers, dancers, Disney Channel stars. For these kids—Prince Michael, Paris, and Blanket—it seems sick to consider a career when the family is still arguing where to bury their father’s body.

Let the Jacksons bury their dead and Joe Jackson, you leave those kids alone.