Joe Jackson Denies Beating Michael, Forming a Group with MJ's Kids
Larry King, Joe Jackson
On Larry King Live Monday night, Joe Jackson denied allegations that he was trying to build a new music group with Michael Jackson's three children, calling the notion "a bunch of jive."
"I'm not encouraging them to do nothing," Jackson told King. "They have to be what they are, kids at the moment."
See our full coverage of Michael Jackson's death
Jackson also denied physically abusing his son as a child. "That's a bunch of bull-S. I wish I could say the S-word," Jackson said. "Never. Never have. I raised him just like you would raise your kids, you know? But harm Michael, for what? I have no reason. That's my son. I loved him and I still love him."
Jackson did, however, concede that he had been blocked from seeing or talking to his son in the days leading up to his death, noting that he's currently living in Las Vegas. "I could never get to him," Jackson said. "I tried all I could, and I could never get to him because he — I was barred away from him by securities and all that type of thing. I could not get to him."
See photos of Michael Jackson with his family
The Jackson patriarch also seems out of the loop with the rest of the family. When King asked about the private autopsy commissioned by the family — the results of which Latoya Jackson claimed to have already seen last week — Jackson said, "They have not showed it to me, Larry. I'll put it like that."
Watch a clip of the interview below. What do you think of Jackson's comments?
