Joe Jackson: “Beatings Saved Michael From A Life Of Gang Violence”

Notorious StageDad Joe Jackson says that treating the King of Pop harshly as a child saved the future music legend from a life of gang violence.

Ah — the ole “I Beat You For Your Own Good” excuse. Very clever, Joe.

The controversial Jackson Family patriarch believes his tyrannical approach to parenting spared his nine children — including singer Michael Jackson — from the mean streets of Gary, Indiana and an early demise. The “Thriller” star passed away over a drug overdose on June 25, 2009, but he spent much of his 50 years of life struggling with the demons that accompanied a hardknocked childhood with his heavy-handed father.

The 81-year-old spoke out on jacksonsecretvault.com, saying: “I had to be like that because, when raising him in those days, so many gangs out there [were] getting into trouble, going to jail. Most of them are dead now. He didn’t have to worry about that,” the 81-year-old insisted during an interview with JacksonSecretVault.com last week.

In fact, Joe has no regrets over his relationship with his famous son: “They tried to make a big issue when I spanked Michael or some of the kids. Just like they didn’t spank their kids when they did wrong. The media twists everything.”