Joe Jackson is being remembered by his children and grandchildren on social media. The 89-year-old Jackson family patriarch lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on Wednesday.
Joe’s loved ones took to social media to pay tribute to him, including his daughter LaToya Jackson, 62, who remembered her father on Twitter.com.
“I will always love you!” she tweeted.
“You gave us strength, you made us one of the most famous families in the world. 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”.
Grandson Stephen Randall Jackson Jr, son of Randy Jackson, 56, shared an old photo of Joe posing beside a framed platinum plaque for Michael Jackson’s classic 1979 album Off the Wall. He captioned the image, “RIP to the king that made everything possible!!! I love you grandpa.”
Meanwhile, Tito Jackson’s son Taj Jackson, 44, clapped back at Twitter trolls, who criticized Joe for beating his children with belts and tree branches when they were young.
“Disgusted by some of the comments I’m reading about my grandpa Joe by those who didn’t even know him,” Taj fired back. “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. Let us grieve without the nastiness.”
Joe was also remembered by the co-executors of Michael Jackson’s estate, John McClain and John Branca.
“We are deeply saddened by Mr. Jackson’s passing and extend our heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Katherine Jackson (Joe’s estranged wife) and the family,” reads a statement issued to Us Weekly by a representative for the pair.
“Joe was a strong man who acknowledged his own imperfections and heroically delivered his sons and daughters from the steel mills of Gary, Indiana, to worldwide pop superstardom… We had developed a warm relationship with Joe in recent years and will miss him tremendously.”
Joe and Katherine were estranged and lived apart for many years. She lives in Calabasas, Calif., while he resided in Nevada.
Joe’s estranged relationship with son Michael resulted in him being completely left out of the King of Pop’s will after his 2009 death. His mother Katherine Jackson continues to receive more than $1 million annually from the Michael Jackson estate.
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. Joe was loved by our ENTIRE family and our hearts are in pain. Let us grieve without the nastiness.#ripthehawk
— Taj Jackson (@tajjackson3) June 27, 2018
Photo by MediaPunch / BACKGRID, WENN.com
