The Jackson Family Story Is More Twisted Than People Know

Being In The Jackson Family Was One Long Nightmare
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Traumatic Facts About The Jackson Family, Music's Tragic Dynasty
Mar 29
PEOPLE
Oksana Maskulka
The feuds. The rumors. The music. As one of the most well-known families of all time, the Jacksons hardly need an introduction. The Jackson family stayed in the headlines for their endless scandals as much as their music. Moonwalk over and learn about one of the most famous and dysfunctional families of our time.
Jackson Family Facts
1. Joe Liked Young Women
As a young man, Joe Jackson aspired to become a professional boxer—until he met a young lady named Katherine Scruse. Joe fell for her immediately— but there were two big problems with their romance. First, Joe was already married at the time. Second, Scruse wasn't even of age. She was only 17 years old when Joe Jackson started to pursue her.
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2. He Abandoned His Wife
Joe quickly annulled his first marriage to be with his teenage bride. The couple wed in 1949, moved to Gary, Indiana, and started their family. After a few years of working as a crane operator, Joe Jackson started playing in a blues band and exploring the music industry. He didn't gain too much traction—until he realized his sons had musical talent. With that, the tumultuous saga of the Jackson family began.
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3. Joe Made His Kids Work
The three brothers started playing gigs around town, eventually bringing in more of their siblings like Marlon and, of course, Michael.  Though he was just five years old (!) when he started working, Michael proved to be the most dynamic performer and quickly took over as the lead singer. Soon enough, the group became known as the Jackson 5.
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4. The Band Was Secretly Miserable
On stage, The Jackson 5 were cheery and dynamic. But behind the scenes, nothing could be further from the truth. Joe was a strict disciplinarian whose methods bordered on the extreme. In an interview with Oprah, he admitted to using a belt strap to beat his children. That's already horrific, but just wait, because it got worse.
According to Joe, he wasn't even sorry about hurting his own children because in his view, it kept them out of trouble and away from the gangs of their neighborhood. Um, cool story, doesn't excuse whipping your kids, bro.
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5. Michael Revealed The Truth
When Michael finally revealed his experience of Joe's violent side, he exposed his father's truly low depths. Michael alleged that Joe would often beat and berate him during the band's rehearsals. Michael later revealed that Joe would sit in a chair as the boys rehearsed, holding a belt and waiting for the moment when one of them would make a mistake. And that's not all.
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6. Joe Was A Task Master
Joe allegedly forced the boys to practice to the point of physical exhaustion for five grueling hours every single day after school. He also controlled every aspect of their lives, not allowing them to have friends or according to some reports, even to play outside. And somehow, that's still not the saddest part.
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7. They Broke Through
Empress of Soul Gladys Knight was actually the one who boosted The Jackson 5 into the limelight. After Knight saw the group perform, she put in a call to Motown Records and demanded that an executive give the kids a shot. Motown liked what they saw and signed the group in 1969. It looked like they'd arrived—but of course, with Joe staying on as their manager, things would be as tough as ever.
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8. Michael's Father Tormented Him
In their first year with Motown, The Jackson 5 released five No. 1 hits and set a world record for selling ten million records in ten months. But let's not forget the horrendous cost of that success: Joe Jackson was merciless. When Joe discovered that Michael felt self-conscious about the size of his nose, he gave his son a cruel nickname: Big Nose.
Years of teasing led Michael to develop a habit of covering his nose and, as many have speculated, likely led to the many surgeries he had to make it smaller.
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9. Their Mother Was...Odd
Oh, and Joe wasn't the only weird parent in the mix. The Jackson clan's matriarch Katherine was consumed with the thought of cleanliness, often taking out her obsession on her children. She scrubbed her kids with rubbing alcohol in an effort to purify them and would smear Vaseline on their faces to make them shine. Good god, this family...
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10. The Brothers Began To Fight
The Jackson 5 had a tumultuous time. In 1969, they released their mega-hit "I Want You Back" but by the early 1970s, everything was falling apart. The band started to bicker and the biggest rivalry was between Jermaine and Michael. Even though Jermaine started out as the lead singer, Michael quickly replaced him as the most talented performer and the clear fan favorite. Soon enough, the brothers started feuding in a vicious way.
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11. The Band Began To Fall Apart
Another reason the band was starting to fall apart? It turned out that their record label was being more than a little shady. The Jackson 5 took home less than 3% of their royalties. The family band moved over to another label and negotiated their way into a much bigger payday—but they had to leave two important things behind.
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12. Jermaine Abandoned The Family
Here's where things got awkward. First, Motown owned the name The Jackson 5, forcing the band to reinvent themselves as The Jacksons. Second, the family left behind one of their own: Jermaine. He had married the Motown boss's daughter—and it looked like he chose his in-laws over his flesh and blood family. Soon enough, Jermaine took this preference to a whole other level.
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13. He Was Jealous Of Michael
In the mid-1970s, both Jermaine and Michael started pursuing solo careers—and if you're thinking they competed with each other for their solo-act success, you'd be right. Jermaine’s first single “Daddy’s Home” got into the top ten charts, but as we all know, he never came close to Michael’s success in music.
This failure had catastrophic effects on the brothers' relationship.
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14. The Rivalry Intensified
When Michael's debut album Off The Wall  did well, Jermaine was ticked. He put out a feuding single called “Word to the Badd” which lashed out at his brother Michael, who supposedly convinced producers to focus on his album rather than Jermaine’s. And the rivalry didn't end there either. In fact, some say it never  ended.
Later in life, Jermaine was quoted by family friends as talking about Michael's success and bitterly saying, “That should have been me." Allegedly, this happened not once, but many times.
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15. Fame Had A Dark Side
During this time, Michael's career had him on top of the world. His debut album was a huge success and he was on the cusp of becoming a superstar— but there was also a dark side to his fame.  Michael was desperately lonely. He revealed, "Even at home, I'm lonely. I sit in my…

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