Joe Jackson has been hospitalized with terminal cancer.
And, according to multiple outlets, the father of Michael and Janet Jackson will almost certainly never go home again.
Those close to the Jackson patriarch tell TMZ that loved ones are rushing to Jackson’s side, hoping to say goodbye to the controversial figure prior to his passing.
Joe’s wife, Katherine, is reportedly at the hospital and she has been joined there so far by a handful of kids and grandkids.
“Joe is going to die any day,” an insider says simply to Radar Online, adding of his wife:“Katherine doesn’t think he will live until Monday.”
This same source says Joe’s relatives “are already planning his funeral,” saying that Joe has made his wishes well known:
“Joe wants to be buried next to Michael. So he’ll be laid to rest in the mausoleum, and so will Katherine.
“The Jacksons have already bought multiple plots at Forest Lawn cemetery in Los Angeles, have spoken to police and arranged car services.”
Joe’s health has been in decline now for a number of years, as he suffered a stroke in 2015 and has also been diagnosed with an aggressive form of colon cancer.
“He’s very very frail, he doesn’t have long,” Jermaine Jackson told The Daily Mail this morning. “The family needs to be by his bedside – that’s our only intention in his final days.”
Jackson, of course, is the father of the late Michael Jackson, as well as singer Janet Jackson and nine other kids.
This means he’s also the grandfather of Paris Jackson, the most prominent of Michael’s kids.
Joe was the manager of The Jackson 5 way back in the day, overseeing the group that made Michael into an icon via a rather heavy and scandal-filled hand.
He’s been accused on many occasions of abuse, infidelity and of fathering kids out of wedlock.
Specifically, Michael Jackson went on record before his own death of how Joe would force him to rehearse around the clock and how he was the victim of whippings and other forms of physical and emotional abuse.
Michael did also say that such strict parenting/managing contributed to his eventual success as an artist.
At this point, Joe is estranged from many of his sons and daughters.
A source close to Janet Jackson, for example, says that the star has been denied access to her father.
Joe’s daughter Joh’Vonnie Jackson, his sole child not with Katherine, has also reportedly not been allowed to see her father, despite their close relationship.
Joe does not want to be viewed in his current state, according to these reports.
His handlers have nee feuding with his family members over just who and who is not allowed inside Joe’s hospital room.
Jermaine confirms this account, saying that full access was really just granted on Thursday evening.
“No one knew what was going on – we shouldn’t have to beg, plead, and argue to see our own father, especially at a time like this,” he told the aforementioned British newspaper, adding:
“We have been hurting. We were not being told where he was and couldn’t get the full picture. Even from the doctor. My mother was worried sick.
“It’s what any family would want, but some people around him think they know better…and they don’t.”
Joe Jackson is 89 years old.