Joe Jackson’s role in developing the Jackson’s musical legacy has always taken a back seat to his notorious reputation as a parent.
The Jackson patriarch made a rare appearance on CNN’s "Piers Morgan Tonight" Wednesday, where he addressed the controversial topic in addition to sharing his thoughts on today’s generation of parents being too “soft” when it comes to disciplining their kids.
“Yeah, they are too soft. One of the reasons I say that is because kids nowadays are killing their parents in some cases,” Jackson said. “Let’s get into this ‘beating’ thing. There’s no such thing as ‘beating a kid.’ You whip them or punish them over something they did, and they will remember that. And they’ll remember it in such a way that they won’t do it again. That’s the way I was.”
The 84-year-old went on to admit that he has no qualms about his stringent parenting toward the iconic family.
"I had to be that way, because during those times, it was hard, and you have a lot of gangs there, you know, in the area where we were living," he said. "This was Gary, Indiana, and I had to make sure that they didn't get in any type of trouble, and things of that sort."
"I'm glad I was tough, because look what I came out with," he went on to say. "I came out with some kids that everybody loved all over the world. And they treated everybody right.”
In addition to opening up on physically disciplining his children, Jackson also recalled personal moments after Michael Jackson’s death.
Check out the clip below to hear Jackson’s reaction to receiving news of Michael’s passing.
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