Why you don't hear from La Toya Jackson anymore
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BY BRIAN BOONE

As a member of one of the most notorious families in American pop music, fame was almost a guarantee for La Toya Jackson.

But how that fame would manifest remained to be seen,

and would prove ever-changing. Her brothers became teen idols and R&B superstars in the '70s as the Jackson 5.

That group launched the career of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop and probably the most famous solo act of all time, and before long,

sister Janet Jackson was an '80s icon in her own right as the leader of rhythm nation.

La Toya Jackson also entered the family business of music, but has lived personal and professional lives arguably filled with even more ups and downs than those experienced by

her more famous family members.

While La Toya was a near-constant media presence in the '80s and '90s, she has since retreated from the spotlight.

Here's what the fifth-oldest Jackson sibling has been up to in recent years.

The Jackson family turned on La Toya

The downfall of La Toya Jackson arguably began in 1991, when the singer-actress released her controversial memoir, Growing Up in the Jackson Family.

It was full of salacious, scandalous, and deeply unsettling details

about her famous relatives, particularly her father, Joe Jackson, whom she alleged was extremely abusive.

Claiming that the Jackson family patriarch was so violent that eldest sibling Rebbie left home at the age of 16 — after police interventions

and pleading with their mother, Katherine, proved ineffective — La Toya alleged that her father's abuse toward her escalated after the family moved from Indiana to California.

"He only sexually abused me once in California," La Toya wrote (via the Associated Press).

"But he still kept up a lot of verbal abuse toward me." At the time, both Joe and Katherine Jackson denied La Toya's claims.

The fallout and familial distance stemming from the release of Growing Up in the Jackson Family left La Toya tainted by scandal

and estranged from her more popular and influential siblings.

Fortunately, La Toya later reconciled with the rest of the Jackson clan, claiming during a 2003 Larry King Live interview that her father had since apologized.

"It's so important to forgive and move forward, because that's negativity and it's toxic to the body and to the mind," she said (via CNN).

"So once you're over that, you feel pure and you're positive and you can move on with your life, with positive things."

She spoke out against brother Michael Jackson amid his legal troubles

In the summer of 1993, the Associated Press obtained legal documents detailing a 13-year-old boy's allegations against Michael Jackson, claiming that the singer had abused him

and forced him into certain acts of a sexual nature.

The King of Pop's lawyer, Howard Weitzman, called the allegations "totally false," while Jackson delivered a statement on live television (from his Neverland Ranch) similarly denying any wrongdoing.

As plenty of Jackson defenders stepped forward, his sister, La Toya Jackson, was first in line to ... affirm those allegations of horrible misdeeds.

La Toya called off her vacation to Israel that December, and instead called a press conference.

"I cannot and will not be a silent collaborator of his crimes against small, innocent children," she said (via Jezebel).

"And if I remain silent, that means I feel the guilt and humiliation that these children are hearing, and I think it's very wrong."

Similar allegations of crimes against children committed by Michael Jackson would return throughout his life and after his 2009 death — including in the 2019 documentary, Leaving Neverland.

But while Michael Jackson eluded charges, jail time, or much effect on his popularity,

La Toya Jackson suffered for speaking out.

Her comments on her brother were ultimately chalked up to just more of the same from the singer-actress: airing the family's dirty laundry and publicly attacking her siblings over incidents that many didn't believe to be true.

La Toya Jackson's musical career was never all that successful

The two biggest stars in the Jackson family are undeniably Michael and Janet.

During his lifetime, Michael Jackson released 10 studio albums, while Janet Jackson has put out 11, as of this writing.

They've both sold millions of records, but in terms of musical output volume, La Toya Jackson has them both beat.

Since 1980, La Toya has released more than a dozen records.

However, she's hopped around labels — from major ones like RCA and Polydor,

to relatively small and obscure ones like Funky Town Grooves and Pilz — likely because none of them sold particularly well.

Her first three albums (La Toya Jackson, My Special Love, and Heart Don't Lie) all peaked in the bottom portion of the Billboard 200 album chart,

and none of her later records even got that far.

In fact, La Toya landed a single on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart just once with "Heart Don't Lie," which, despite some major MTV exposure in 1984, climbed the chart to #56.

For the sake of comparison, in the wake of Michael Jackson's mega-hit record Thriller, even oldest sibling Rebbie Jackson managed a top 30 hit with "Centipede."

In 2004, La Toya Jackson enjoyed a bit of a comeback under the pseudonym Toy, when her singles "Just Wanna Dance"

and "Free the World" received major play in dance clubs.

But after that, the world went back to being indifferent to the recording career of the middle Jackson sibling.