An interview was aired in 1993, shortly after Michael’s interview with Oprah.
In it, Katherine, Joseph, Jermaine, Randy and Rebbie make every effort to appear supportive of Michael. However, what at first appears to be a demonstration of strong family unity, quickly unravels to reveal a family that is fragmented.
The interview reveals that Jermaine wrote a song for Michael called “Word To The Badd”, whose original lyrics are quite scathing and reflective of his frustration and not being able to communicate with his brother. Asked by the interviewer why he thinks Michael is so shy and reclusive, Jermaine asserts that he doesn’t know and puts his brother’s shyness down to perhaps being caused by his skin condition.
When the Jackson Five split from Motown and signed with CBS in 1976, Jermaine opted to remain at Motown. At the time, he was married to Hazel, Berry Gordy’s daughter and had reason to believe that he would have good career opportunities as a solo artist if he remained at his father in law’s label. Jermaine’s decision not to sign with CBS caused a rift between himself and the rest of the Jacksons, who then had to perform without him. Unfortunately for Jermaine, he did not end up having the successful solo career he’d hoped for. But the time he left Motown, Michael had embarked on his own successful solo career and no longer wanted to be part of the Jackson Five.
These days, Jermaine acts as the spokesperson for the family.
Rebbie, the eldest child of the Jackson family, left the family home in 1968 when she was 18 to marry her childhood sweetheart Nathaniel Brown. Her decision to leave the family home and marry caused a division in the Jackson family. Joseph was against the marriage because he wanted Rebbie to follow in the footsteps of her brothers and become a singer. He felt that married life would stop her from becoming a success in the entertainment business. Though Rebbie had performed on stage with her siblings during shows in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in 1974, before subsequently appearing in the television series The Jacksons, she had no real interest in a career in showbusiness. Joseph eventually relented and agreed to her marriage but refused to walk her down the aisle.
Rebbie is a devout Jehova’s Witness. In the interview, she expresses her distaste for Michael’s crotch grabbing on stage. When pressed by the interviewer, she reveals that the family hasn’t gotten together in a long time and that she personally hasn’t seen Michael in a year.
Janet, the youngest of the Jackson clan, went on to have her own very successful career as a solo artist. She gained respect from her peers in the music industry and appeared on stage with Michael on various occasions. She does not appear in this interview and has not spoken publicly since Michael’s death.
LaToya, the most controversial and perhaps the most vocal of all the Jackson siblings, ran away from Hayvenhurst, the family home in 1988 and married Jack Gordon, a person with alleged links to the criminal underworld. She met Gordon through her father, who introduced them. Whilst married to Gordon, she posed for Playboy. As if that wasn’t enough to horrify her family, she also wrote a book about growing up as a Jackson and accused her father of being physically violent to his children, and of sexually molesting Rebbie and herself. In 1993, she also accused Michael of being a child molester.
After this happened, Michael cut LaToya off from his life and did not speak to her for a number of years. LaToya has since reconciled with her family and has been very vocal in her suspicions of Michael’s death being a murder.
Katherine married Joseph at the age of 19. She has always been a devout Jehova’s Witness and was the closest to Michael out of all the family members. It’s been said that whenever the family wanted Michael to do something he did not want to do, they would get Katherine to talk to him, knowing he’d do almost anything if his mother asked him to. It is telling of their relationship that in his last will dated 2006, Michael left sole custody of his 3 children plus control of his estate, to Katherine and no-one else in the family.
Joseph, whose drive and one-eyed ambition was the driving force behind his sons’ breakthrough into the entertainment industry in the 70′s, has been largely criticised for beating his sons when they were children. He has always expressed his disappointment at his children’s criticisms, maintaining that without him, they would never have reached stardom. In this interview, Joseph gives the impression of quite the resilient patriarch, dismissing LaToya’s accusations as lies and declaring that he can’t let the lies hamper the life he has to live.
According to many accounts, Joseph used to call Michael ‘big nose’. He would also regularly beat him, perhaps because as the band’s front man, he felt that young Michael needed to be the most perfect performer. Perhaps a child with a different temperament would not have taken all of this so much to heart, but Michael was who he was and sadly, grew up with a complex about his appearance. Joseph believed in tough love, and did what he felt as best for his family. He was driven by a need to keep the family together and the Jackson Five as a single unit. He shirked from making any differentiation between the boys and the thought of any one of them leaving the group, was his worst nightmare.
Eventually, the Jackson Five stopped performing because Michael, their key member, left to pursue his own career, and every single one of Joseph’s children eventually sacked him as their manager, preferring to work with other people instead.
In this interview, there is a feeling that none of these family members have a very deep understanding of Michael.
But most tellingly about the way Michael must’ve felt about his family, was his emancipation from them, both physically and artistically.
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