Michael Jackson’s dad thinks the singer is “worth more dead than when he was alive.”
Joe Jackson, 80, let that slip last night in an interview on the syndicated TV show “Extra.”
Jackson — decked out in creepy sunglasses and a blinged-out, black, chalk-stripe suit — quickly recognized his gaffe and blurted out, “I’d rather have him alive.”
The crass comment, though, appears to be true. Michael’s posthumous movie, “This Is It,” raked in $20.1 million in its first day of worldwide box-offices sales, according to distribution figures released yesterday.
The King of Pop’s pop also figures his son couldn’t generate this kind of buzz in his final years.
“When he was living, they didn’t show this,” Joe said.
In the years leading up to his death, Michael blamed many of his problems on abuse from his father — dating back to when Michael and his brothers performed as the Jackson Five.