Instagram Joe Jackson and Joh'Vonnie Jackson.
Legendary talent manager Joe Jackson has died. He is survived by his wife Katherine, their ten children, and his daughter Joh’Vonnie Jackson, whom he fathered with Cheryl Terrell.
Joh’Vonnie was born on August 30, 1974. According to Daily Mail, her existence was kept a secret from the rest of the Jackson family, despite the fact that she and her mother Cheryl lived just five miles away from the Jackson home in Encino, California. Joh’Vonnie later recounted her experiences in the memoir Bastard Child.
Here’s what you need to know about Joh’Vonnie Jackson:
1. She Says That Joe Jackson Would Visit Her on the Weekends
Despite the fact that he was carrying on a double life, Joh’Vonnie tells Daily Mail that Jackson was a supportive father. “Daddy would come zooming in through the gates in his two-seater Mercedes or Rolls Royce”, she recalled, “He’d be hungry and his dinner would be cooked. He would come around sometimes without warning, he has very much a presence in my life, I was a daddy’s girl.”
Joh’Vonnie added that her father would often bring her gifts, or take her and her mother out on the luxury boat that he kept at their house. “I would be so excited, he would bring me presents, my favorite black walnut ice cream. I was spoiled rotten”, she said. “He was very loving and nicknamed me Jobie and often called me sweet-potato or Sally-Mae.”
Despite the excitement, Joh’Vonnie said that there was friction between Jackson, a married man, and her mother Cheryl. “Mom wasn’t even sure she liked him, he wasn’t her type and he was married”, she explained. “It didn’t sit well with her parents at all, my father was the same age as my grandmother.”
2. She Didn’t Meet Her Half-Siblings Until She Was a Teen
Joh’Vonnie admits to harboring suspicions of her father’s lifestyle when she was a pre-teen. “My life was hush-hush, there was grocery stores we couldn’t shop at”, she said. “There was places we couldn’t go in our own neighborhood. If we went to watch a movie we would have to go miles out, my dad loves to watch movies [so] it was a real inconvenience when there was a movie theater right down the street.”
There was also the matter of Jackson’s insistence that she not divulge anything about her family. “Joe was scared of a reporter seeing us, somebody taking pictures and putting it in a news article and then have to go home and discuss this with an angry wife”, she revealed. “Every time I went somewhere he would drum it into me that I shouldn’t talk about our family’s business… I wasn’t allowed to have anyone over to the house.”
In her memoir, Joh’Vonnie states that she was aware of her famous half-siblings, but didn’t get to meet them until she was almost an adult. “I was very aware that I was in the Jackson family growing up, I saw them on TV, I listened to their music”, she wrote.”But I was hidden away, kept secret for years, not able to become part of that family. It was hurtful.”
Joh’Vonnie adds: “I have met every single last one of them, but for some reason there has always been something stopping them from accepting me, from being close to me. Of course when I was around them there was a show of love, but once I was gone there was no phone calls asking how I’m doing… I still feel rejected.”
3. She Called LaToya Jackson ‘The Worst Sister’ On Instagram
Joh’Vannie has had confrontations with several members of the Jackson family. In her memoir, she states that Katherine Jackson openly referred to her as the “bastard child” whenever she was around. In an interview with The Talk, Joh’Vannie said that she experienced pushback from Janet Jackson when she referred to their father as “daddy.”
“[Janet and I] met up at Rebbie’s house and we were having a pretty good conversation until I said, ‘Daddy’ and she got upset,” Joh’Vonnie explained. “But the reason she got upset is because he did not allow them to call him Daddy.”
Joh’Vonnie has also shown contempt for her older half-sister LaToya Jackson. After the latter suffered a stroke in May, Joh’Vonnie sent her thoughts and prayers via Twitter. Shortly after, however, she posted a video to Instagram that divulged her true feelings toward LaToya.
“I just wanted to take a moment and talk about my sister LaToya”, she says in the video. “You know, its very unfortunate, she’s 62 years old and she had a minor stroke, and I personally want her to know that, even though, you have been the worst sister one could ever have, to me, I want you to know that I still love you.”
4. She Has a Daughter Named Yasmine Jackson
When Joh’Vonnie finally met her brother Michael Jackson in 2003, she said that he showed no warmth toward her and was more interested in her young daughter Yasmine. “It was a big moment for me”, she told The Mirror. “But Michael was looking at me and seemed cold. He just said, ‘Hi’ and then he saw my daughter Yasmine and was fascinated with her.”
“I wanted to embrace him”, she continued. “I thought he would want to go some place quiet and sit and talk with me and ask me about my life and get to know me a little better. He was not interested at all. With my daughter he was totally different. She got hugs and kisses, everything I didn’t get. I was a little jealous. But there was a bunch of people there and I never did get a chance to speak to Michael properly.”
According to Yasmine’s Instagram account, she is currently working as a nursing student in Las Vegas, Nevada. She has a close relationship with her mother, and regularly posts photos of them together. She also promotes Joh’Vonnie’s memoir and public appearances on social media. “So proud of my mother JohVonnie Jackson! I can’t wait to see her interview on The Talk on CBS!” she wrote, shortly before her mother’s talk show appearance.
5. She Maintained a Close Relationship With Joe Jackson Before His Death
Despite the friction between her and the rest of the Jackson family, Joh’Vonnie maintained a close relationship with her father before he died. Both were living in Las Vegas when Jackson was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
“My relationship with Joseph Jackson is very complex”, she told Daily Mail. “You never know what you’re gonna get with him, it’s either gonna be good or it’s gonna be bad. It can start out good and then turn out bad. It’s just like a rollercoaster. He fusses at me, I fuss back.”
“There have been people who have witnessed my father and I’s relationship, it really is a trip”, she added. “We should[‘ve] have our own reality show.”