INTERVIEW: Joe Jackson
THE FATHER of Michael Jackson says he doesn't regret "being tough" with the pop star during his childhood.
Speaking during Piers Morgan Tonight, which aired on Wednesday, the Jackson patriarch, who has been plagued by stories and rumours about the strict upbringing of his nine children, also claimed that he doesn't believe that there's any such thing as beating a child but that they "will remember" being punished.
Discussing his late son, who had spoken about his strict upbringing, he said:
"You know, Michael, he was a nice guy… The world (doesn't) know anything too much about Michael as far as how he was brought up. But he was brought up. I made sure that he respected the older people."
Addressing Janet Jackson's claims that she wasn't allowed to call Joe 'Dad' at any point during her childood, he said:
"You had all those kids running hollering around. They're hollering, 'Dad, Dad, Dad,' you know, and it gets to be - it sounds kind of funny to me.
"I didn't care too much about what they called me, just as long as they (were) able to listen to me and what I had to tell them, you know, in order to make their lives successful. This was the main thing," he admitted.
Michael died of cardiac arrest in 2009 at the age of 50.