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Michael Jackson: Father Of ‘King Of Pop’ Praises Supporters Of MJ Following Seventh Anniversary Of Singer’s Death

By Jonathan Brown
Published on: 07:42 PST, Jun 26, 2016

One day after the seventh anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death, patriarch of the Jackson clan, Joe Jackson, reached out to fans of the global superstar to thank them for their unwavering support of his late son’s legacy.

In a set of Twitter posts on Sunday, the 87-year-old talent manager shared his gratitude and admiration for the horde of fans who not only paid tribute to the “Thriller” entertainer with the hashtag “#MJForever” on Saturday, but continue to elevate his name as one of the greatest pop stars who ever lived.

He also made sure to mention that the outpouring of love was being felt by Michael’s mother, Katherine Jackson, as well as the three children the singer left behind — Prince, Paris, and Blanket.

Throughout the weekend, fans of Michael Jackson have been using social media to not only remember the icon who died on June 25, 2009 while preparing for his final tour, This Is It, but to combat several scathing reports that dredge up and add onto his long-acquitted child molestation charges, while painting him as a mean-spirited sibling who was extremely jealous of another late pop star, Prince. The latter instance stems from uncovered audio tapes that were meant to be used in an self-compiled autobiography on Michael’s life. The tome was never released.

michael jackson death
[Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images]
Along with such a sad remembrance, Joe Jackson is said to still be recovering from several health issues that befell him around this time last year. USA Today reported that while celebrating his then-upcoming birthday in Sao Paolo, Brazil, the octogenarian suffered a stroke. He was quickly crushed to the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein (the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital), and was said to be in critical condition.

After being admitted, he was said to have had three back-to-back heart attacks, and an emergency surgery for placement of a pacemaker immediately took place afterward. Jackson himself has never publicly spoken on the highly-publicized ordeal, but the instance did ironically follow a death hoax from only a month before.

“The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” he shared through a blog post titled, “I Am 100% Alive” in May, 2015. “Please ignore all the stupid [and] false rumors from people who seem to find humor in such topics.”

Just one year after that making that statement, Michael Jackson’s father once again found himself hospitalized — this time, in Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, following a routine check-up. A report from TMZ expressed the elder Jackson became “weak” while performing some normal tests. After being found to have taken on a high fever, he was admitted for observational purposes. To this day, there is no official word on what caused the second hospital stay, and just as before, Jackson has remained mum on details of his health.

michael jackson death
[Photo by Carlo Allegri/Getty Images]
Despite long-standing rumors of strain between himself and the rest of the Jackson collective, Joe Jackson has always been warmly regarded for helping to birth the successful careers of Michael and Janet Jackson, as well as the other melodically-gifted members of the Jackson family. Until his departure from famed Neverland Ranch in 2003, Michael threw an annual celebration in his father’s honor called “Joseph Jackson Day.”

“Michael, not a day goes by when I don’t think of you,” Joe shared in a touching note on his website in 2004. “Everywhere I go, your music follows me. I hear it in the stores, in the car, on TV. You are everywhere. You were a great son and I will always miss you.”

[Photo by Connie Aramaki/Stringer/Getty Images]

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