Joe Jackson Has Died

Joe Jackson is dead.

And while I never RELISH a lost life… I can’t say I’m particularly heartbroken. He didn’t sound like a very good man, and by many accounts, he was a HORRIFIC father.

…but he sure did raise an INCREDIBLY talented bunch. I’ll give him that.

According to People:

Joe Jackson, the music manager and father of 11, died early Wednesday morning, TMZ reports. He was 89.

The Jackson family patriarch had been battling terminal pancreatic cancer and was “not doing well” as of late, a source previously told PEOPLE.

Grandsons Randy Jackson Jr. and Taj Jackson confirmed the news in tweets Wednesday afternoon, writing, “RIP to the king that made everything possible! I love you grandpa” and “Joe was loved by the entire family and our hearts are in pain. Let us grieve.”

RIP to the king that made everything possible!!! I love you grandpa 🖤🖤 pic.twitter.com/SI1C7lUuG6

— RANDY JACKSON (@randyjacksonjr) June 27, 2018

Some members of the family are pushing back against the common perception that Joe was abusive:

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

Fair enough. Only their family truly knows what went on in private.

Janet, on the other hand, hasn’t been particularly glowing about him in the past:

She describes physical abuse, says rarely speaks to him, and never calls him “dad.”

His death comes as no surprise, as his health has been failing:

On June 21, son Jermaine told the Daily Mail, “He’s very, very frail, he doesn’t have long. The family needs to be by his bedside — that’s our only intention in his final days.”

Just days later, Jackson appeared to share an emotional tweet hinting at his worsening health struggles. “I have seen more sunsets than I have left to see,” read the caption on a photo of Jackson, in his trademark hat, silhouetted against sun rays. “The sun rises when the time comes and whether you like it or not the sun sets when the time comes.”

However, his granddaughter Paris claimed that the message was in fact not written by the family head. “My grandfather did not tweet this,” she commented. “I’m not sure if he’s ever used this account.”

Over the years, Jackson — who was born on July 26, 1928, in Fountain Hill, Arkansas — had a series of health problems.

In November 2012, he recovered from a minor stroke at his Las Vegas home. Three years later, daughter Janet had to put rehearsals for her Unbreakable World Tour on hold when he suffered another stroke and heart arrhythmia in Brazil on his 87th birthday in July 2015.

In May 2016, he was hospitalized due to a high fever and in June 2017, he was released from the hospital after a car accident in Las Vegas.

This family has been plagued with drama and tragedy. I wish them all the best.