# Katherine and Joe Jackson step in **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 13, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791 "2003-12-13T17:24:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/1 "2003-12-13T17:24:40Z")
Now we’re getting statements by Katherine and Joe Jackson, the parents of Michael Jackson, saying they are prepared to assume custody of his children is he loses them. Let’s consider their qualifications: They raised Michael Jackson. Okay, who’s next on the list? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/2 "2003-12-13T17:33:34Z")
Liz and Bobo! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/3 "2003-12-13T19:23:51Z")
Waitaminute! I thought Joe Jackson was Stepping Out, not stepping in. [/80s musical reference] ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/4 "2003-12-13T19:48:34Z")
Both of them are nuts. When Joe Jackson was asked about his grandkids, I got the feeling that he didn’t even know their names. He kept stumbling when he said “Prince” and he kept referring to the little girl as “the little girl”. And he made no mention of the third child “Blanket”. Plus, he and his wife gave totally different accounts of the children’s personalities. (And I looked at his eyes really carefully. They are not blue, Michael!) I laughed when the interviewer asked Joe who he thought were the three most talented of his children, and he said Michael, Jermaine, and after a long pause, Janet. Poor little Janet. It’s one thing to be in Michael’s shadow, but Jermaine’s? Jheri-curl-wearing Jermaine? ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/5 "2003-12-13T21:43:05Z")
Now now, let’s not judge the Jackson’s on how they raised only 1 of their 7 children… After all, they also raised _LaToya_… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Scotticher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Scotticher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scotticher)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/6 "2003-12-13T23:19:49Z")
Wait just a minute here. One of his kids is named BLANKET? ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/7 "2003-12-13T23:26:47Z")
no, **Scotti** his third child is named “Prince Michael II”, but is **called** Blanket. (his first child is, of course, “Prince Michael I” That’s so much better, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/8 "2003-12-14T00:33:27Z")
I was going to star a pit thread about this too… I shook my head when I saw the newspaper say that they would adopt the children if the state took them away from MJ. This comes only one month after an interview with Joe Jackson in which he said: _“I whipped him (Michael) with a belt or a switch. I never beat him. You beat someone with a stick.”_ Yup, I’m sure that child protection services would think they are perfect alternatives to Wacko. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/9 "2003-12-14T00:46:39Z")
Well, as for the nickname “Blanket”, it doesn’t sound that bad in and of itself-my nickname from babyhood has been Bean, which my Dad stuck on me. (Because I used to get strained green beans all over my face as a baby). But with him calling the kid “Blanket”, along with shoving a veil over all of their faces…that’s just fucking creepy. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/10 "2003-12-14T00:49:54Z")
> [@](#): > > Now now, let’s not judge the Jackson’s on how they raised only 1 of their 7 children… You mean 9 kids. Rebbie Latoya Tito Jackie Jermain Randy Marlon Michael Janet ---
**Author:** ![Scotticher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Scotticher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scotticher)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/11 "2003-12-14T01:16:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by wring \* > \*\*no, **Scotti** his third child is named “Prince Michael II”, but is **called** Blanket. (his first child is, of course, “Prince Michael I” > That’s so much better, isn’t it? \*\* Ummmmm…I believe the correct answer here is…NO? And what is the girl’s name? Princess, AKA “Blanklett?” Although I agree with **Guin** on the nickname issue…my childhood nickname was Pudge. I’m pretty sure my mom actually _loved_ me, too. Kinda boggles the mind, doesn’t it? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![E.T.Bass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9fc29f/32.png) [@E.T.Bass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.T.Bass)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/12 "2003-12-14T02:01:55Z")
Janet made me share her bed and molested me last night and made me call her “Chocolate girl”. I have decided not to press charges. (Ok, so that’s a sexual fantasy). I would not want Joe Jackson near those kids. He’s abused his own kids, what would he do to the grandkids, as spoiled as they are under Micheal’s guidance? Joe also looks like one mean son of a bitch, although you have to give the man credit, if it was not for him, Michael would be working in a Gary, IN steel mill or a Quickie Mart now. I knew a guy who met Mrs. Jackson (mother) many years ago and asked her if she was Michael’s mother. She said she was Jermaine, Tito, Marlon, Randy, Michael, and Janet’s mother (who did I leave out?) As a side note, where in the hell did they get the name “Tito” from? Was he conceived in Yugoslavia? ET ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/13 "2003-12-14T02:08:26Z")
Michael’s daughter’s name is Paris Katherine, which I think it rather pretty. Or is it Paris Michael Katherine? I dunno. It’s not a name I’d choose for my child, but as far as names go, it’s better than growing up Prince Michael and Prince Michael II. Especially when I saw the special. Little Prince seemed like such a sweet kid. Poor little things. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/14 "2003-12-14T02:11:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Michael would be working in a Gary, IN steel mill or a Quickie Mart now. Yeah…but at least he’d be black, handsome, and male. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/15 "2003-12-14T02:41:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by monstro \* > \*\*Yeah…but at least he’d be black, handsome, and male. \*\* Not to mention sane. ---
**Author:** ![Priam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/77aa72/32.png) [@Priam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Priam)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/16 "2003-12-14T02:55:01Z")
One does have to wonder how many celebrities would’ve been so much better off had they been born and/or remained average Joes. Michael Jackson is probably an obvious example of someone whose celebrity has not treated him kindly, but a lot of child stars end up seriously messed in the head. I myself would be quite reluctant to let any child under my guardianship be exposed to so much outside their realm of understanding so young, and feel those parents who treat their celebrity children as trained dogs performing tricks should have their lungs removed via their throat and left to dangle upon them until death… but thats a bit of a ramble, really. ---
**Author:** ![furlibusea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@furlibusea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furlibusea)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/17 "2003-12-14T06:38:20Z")
I am trying to think of what could be worse for those kids if the allegations get proven than to be sent into the household that screwed their father up so badly. Maybe the courts could get one of those priests out of jail and give the kids to them. The ones that got the catholic church in so much trouble. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/18 "2003-12-14T07:07:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by E.T. Bass \* > if it was not for him, Michael would be working in a Gary, IN steel mill or a Quickie Mart now. Gonna go with Guin and monstro here … compared to the life he has now, and the life he can expect to have … ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/19 "2003-12-14T11:56:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Thudlow Boink \* > \*\*Waitaminute! I thought Joe Jackson was Stepping Out, not stepping in. > [/80s musical reference] \*\* I’m glad I’m not the only one who saw the thread title and thought _that_ Joe Jackson was being Pitted. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2003, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katherine-and-joe-jackson-step-in/218791/20 "2003-12-14T19:26:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Janet made me share her bed and molested me last night and made me call her “Chocolate girl”. That’s Miss Jackson to you. > [@](#): > > As a side note, where in the hell did they get the name “Tito” from? Was he conceived in Yugoslavia? Tito’s real name is Toriano Adaryll Jackson. Actually all of the Jackson children were nicknamed after Communist dictators: Rebbie “Mao” Jackson, Latoya “Brezhnev” Jackson, Toriano “Tito” Jackson, Jackie “Fidel” Jackson, Jermain “Stalin” Jackson, Randy “Ho Chi Minh” Jackson, Marlon “Kim Il Sung” Jackson, Michael “Trotsky” Jackson (an indication of his long standing feud with his older brother Stalin), and Janet “Enver Hoxha” Jackson. Most of the children later dropped these names for publicity reasons.