Michael Jackson once shared chilling details about his childhood, then told journalist 'please don't write it'
Child protégé Michael Jackson made his public debut as the lead singer of the Jackson 5 in the 1960s at the age of six with his siblings, and by the age of eleven, he achieved the honor of appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone in 1971. However, his illustrious career was eclipsed by fear and abuse meted out by his father Joe Jackson. “He’d sit there every day, it’s like after school, we’d come from school and we’d rehearse, and he’d sit in a chair like this, usually with a belt in his hand or a switch,” Jackson revealed in a secret unearthed tape. “I was beaten more than any of the children," he confessed. “You mean for pranks and stuff?” the journalist cut in. "I mean, to the point, I would be abused, please, please don’t write that," the 'Thriller' hitmaker replied but begged the reporter not to note it down.
“And he’d be sitting there, and we’d do our performance, and if you messed up, you’d get hit,” Jackson disclosed. However, the 'Billie Jean' singer acknowledged that he rebelled against his father quite often leading to tough confrontations between the two. " I used to throw back at him and get back at him when he’d get me. I would repeat that,” he said. Jackson further explained that his parents never complimented or loved him but were rather manipulative and strict, and so he felt empty.
“If your father won’t give you love, and your mother, you find love in someone else as a substitute, and you’re kind to that person, you find it elsewhere. That’s how it is, you know. And you can tell if a child, what type of relationship they have with the parents when the parents come around,” he continued. Later in the interview Jackson also accused his brothers of heavily relying on him for the success of their musical career.
11 year old michael jackson heading the jackson 5 to legendary status in 1970. he is really the definition of natural-born talent. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/YNZzJUYhEA
— Mike Jack | fan acc (@superflythrill_) August 16, 2022
He emphasized that they eventually claimed credit for ideas and concepts that were entirely developed by him. "The brothers didn't give me y'know help and support. It's difficult. The pressure gets left on me," he said. According to Today, in a startling 30-hour taped interview with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, the 'Beat It' singer further revealed Sr. Jackson's atrocities, which ultimately became the subject of the book 'The Michael Jackson Tapes.'
The Grammy winner admitted that he had collapsed and puked in his father's presence because he was so afraid of him. "I am scared of my father to this day. My father walked into the room, I have fainted in his presence many times. I have thrown up in his presence because when he comes in the room and this aura comes and my stomach starts hurting and I know I am in trouble."
1. Jackson’ didn’t learn to play music on his own.
— Manifest_Lord (@Manifest_Lord) June 20, 2024
- Whilst growing up, Michael Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson, would force Michael alongside his siblings to practice music.
- He would often hit or whip them if they played the wrong note or made a mistake.
- Growing up in this… pic.twitter.com/vAABaGg963
Jackson admitted that he was unable to move past the mindless abuse, revealing that his mother would helplessly watch as his father would strike them violently, sometimes breaking furniture in the process. "She was always the one in the background when he would lose his temper — hitting us and beating us. And he would be breaking furniture and it was terrible." He also disclosed that after becoming a grandfather, his father had a change of heart, but he also acknowledged that he will never be able to see him in a different light, "I just wished he had learned that earlier," he concluded.