warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Blacklisted: Worst Fathers Of All Time

Aja Dang |
June 19, 2011 | 11:47 a.m. PDT

Columnist

Is Arnold Schwarzenegger the worst father?
Is Arnold Schwarzenegger the worst father?
Every third Sunday in June comes a day where we bust out the Hallmark cards, lovingly wrap up those “#1 Dad” mugs and try to be on our best behavior. Father’s Day is a time to not only celebrate daddy dearest but to also be thankful for everything they have done for us throughout the years. Although most of us have been blessed with amazing, supportive dads, there are some fathers who deserve a kick in the pants instead of a new pair of pants. In honor of Father’s Day, I will help you appreciate your old man even more by highlighting the most unreliable, hateful and horrible dads in the country. These five men not only deserve to be questioned by family services, but their actions have put themselves on the Blacklist.  

5. Arnold Schwarzenegger

It only seems natural to start a “worst of” list with a politician/actor/idiot. It’s a tale as old as time: actor falls in love with a beautiful journalist, they get married, have kids, he becomes the governator, has an affair with a member of his staff and kept it under wraps for a decade. Oh wait, that’s not how the fairy tale goes. What makes this story special is the fact that his wife and four children saw his mistresses as a family confidant and his illegitimate child as a family friend. Although there have been questions regarding Schwarzenegger’s infidelity in the past, he never admitted to having a child outside of the marriage until now. I guess the tabloids didn’t dig deep enough during his election campaigns. Since he did pay child support all these years, he certainly isn’t the worst father in history. However, by screwing over a Kennedy, he will not only end up on everyone’s shit list for 2011, but he will also have the worst karma for the rest of his life. But all this begs the question: who is a worse father to? The family who he betrayed or the child he kept a secret? It would be very interesting to be a fly on the wall at this Father’s Day dinner. 

4. Michael Lohan

Where do I begin? From the moment his daughter became a star, Michael Lohan and his poor life decisions have gotten him front page headlines on all the top gossip magazines. From getting into a fist fight with his brother-in-law during a First Communion party to being charged with domestic violence and lining up a spot on "Celebrity Rehab" Season 5, Lohan has become the family member that everyone wants to pretend doesn’t exist. He has tried every way imaginable to profit off of his famous daughters’ celebrity and has proven time and again that he is more interested in becoming famous than saving his daughter’s sanity. From releasing songs about Lindsay to setting up sit down interview with the press to talk about his daughters’ issues, it is clear where his parental priorities are. It got so bad that Lindsay released a statement basically disowning her father and even considered dropping his last name. Lindsay never had a shot. 

3. Kelsey Grammer

Frasier revealed himself to be a bad daddy when court documents were released stating that Grammer only wanted primary custody of his son Jude, six, leaving his nine-year-old daughter Mason with his reality star ex Camille. Anyone with a sibling will admit that each parent has their favorite, but this seems a bit extreme. Prior to the documents, Camille was reportedly open to the idea of joint custody of their two kids, but now the Chanel gloves are off and she is ready to fight for sole custody. As a child of divorced parents, the fact that Kelsey wants to split up his children completely blows my mind. Grammer’s lawyer told TMZ that his “priority is to protect both of his children”, but how does he plan on doing that while choosing one over the other?  It seems to me that Kelsey is just trying to punish his ex wife while giving his daughter the middle finger. This poor girl is going to have so many daddy issues to deal with that we might as well start thinking of a stage name for her now. I’m thinking Candy or Destiny. 

2. Scott Peterson

He cheated, murdered his wife and unborn child and is now spending his time on death row. Enough said. 

1. Joe Jackson

Oh Joe Jackson. Most known for being the father of two of the biggest names in music and a down right dirty dog. During the Jackson 5 era, he was seen as a crazy stage dad. In fact his antics were so infamous that there was a whole movie made about how bad of a dad he was. He would sit in a chair with a belt in his hands during rehearsals to “motivate” the boys to perform correctly. Michael never hid the fact that Joe physically and emotionally abused him and even admitted on Oprah in 1993 that he would be so scared to see his father that he would vomit. However, it wasn’t until Michael’s death when he really proved how selfish and money hungry he was. Michael wrote his dad out of his will (understandably) and after a California court denied Joe’s appeal to control Michael’s estate, he decided to go after a wrongful death lawsuit. He wants Dr. Conrad Murray to pay anywhere between $10-$500 million, but the best part is the break down of where that money will go. According to Joe, 20 percent is for loss of support, 40 perfect is for loss of comfort, aid, society and companionship and the remaining 40 percent is for emotional distress. Really Joe? You are claiming emotional distress? That is a ballsy move on your part! While a wrongful death suit is certainly justifiable, we all know that this isn’t coming from a place of love. In fact, Michael Jackson’s mother, Katherine, and baby momma, Debbie Rowe, struck a deal saying that Rowe would not pursue any custody claim on Jackson’s children as long as Joe stayed out of their lives. Yikes! You know you’re a bad dad when not even your own wife wants you to be around your grandchildren. Since then, Jackson has taken every red carpet opportunity to promote a new money making scheme and has never seemed too genuine over the loss of his famous son. We all know that you never saw your son as anything but a cash cow, so thank you Joe Jackson, for showing the world what it means to be the worst father in history. You will forever be Blacklisted

To reach Aja Dang click here
Follow her on Twiiter

 




 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.

 
ntrandomness