Joe Jackson has died at the age of 89, according to a family source.

US news outlet TMZ was the first to report the news, stating that his wife, Katherine, was at his bedside when he died at 3:30AM in Los Angeles. 

Joe’s death came after a period of ill-health which saw him require hospital treatment, though the nature of his illness was not made public. 

His grandson, Taj, who was a member of 1990s band 3T, tweeted on Wednesday evening that the entire family was “in pain”.

He also hit out over negative comments posted about his grandfather on social media.

Taj, son of The Jacksons star Tito, tweeted: “Disgusted by some of the comments I’m reading about my grandpa Joe by those who didn’t even know him. Please don’t just regurgitate what you were spoon fed by the press.

“Joe was loved by our ENTIRE family and our hearts are in pain. Let us grieve without the nastiness. #ripthehawk.”

Last week, Jermaine Jackson (one of Joe’s 11 children) revealed that he was having trouble visiting his father in hospital.

Addressing a recent attempt to do so, he told the Daily Mail: “No one knew what was going on — we shouldn’t have to beg, plead, and argue to see our own father, especially at a time like this.

“We have been hurting. We were not being told where he was and couldn’t get the full picture. Even from the doctor. My mother was worried sick.”

Joe’s health problems date back years and Joe’s medical history includes a stroke and heart attack in 2015.

Joe assembled the Jackson 5 in the 1960s and managed the group as they went from unknown child singers to global superstars. 

In the late 1980s, he faced allegations of physical abuse against his children. 

Joe addressed the claims in Louis Theroux’s documentary about Michael Jackson, telling the journalist: “I whipped him with a switch and a belt. I never beat him. You beat someone with a stick.”