TMZ reported on Friday that Joe Jackson, the 89-year-old patriarch of the Jackson family, has entered the final stages of cancer. Family members are reportedly visiting his bedside, and his son Jermaine Jackson told the Daily Mail that “He’s very very frail, he doesn’t have long.†On Saturday night Joe’s daughter Janet became the first ever recipient of the Impact Award at the 2018 Radio Disney Music Awards, and she used her acceptance speech to honor her family’s influence on her career.
“[I]f I have been fortunate enough to impact others it is only because I, myself, have been greatly impacted by positive people in my life,†the pop icon said, “My mother nourished me with the most extravagant love imaginable, my father, my incredible father, drove me to be the best that I can. My siblings set an incredibly high standard, a high bar for artistic excellence.â€