Fat Joe claims his first-born son Joey’s mother ‘completely abandoned the boy’ after he was diagnosed with Down syndrome and autism following his birth.
The Grammy-nominated rapper, 54, appears on Shannon Sharpe’s weekly podcast Shay Shay Club On Wednesday, he held nothing back when detailing his fatherhood journey involving Joey, 33, with the 56-year-old NFL Hall of Famer.
The New York City native recalled how doctors informed him and Joey’s mother of the diagnoses after his birth.
“Then the doctor tells us: ‘I have bad news to tell you… you have Down syndrome and it’s going to be a big challenge,'” said the entertainer, whose full name is José Antonio Cartagena. “His mother said, ‘I can’t do this, I’m going to have to give him up for adoption.’
What is love? The vocalist said his mother was furious about his ex’s reactions, calling her a “crazy bitch,” and the family stopped having contact with Joey’s mother at that time.
Fat Joe, 54, claims his first-born son Joey’s mother ‘completely abandoned the boy’ after he was diagnosed with Down syndrome and autism after his birth.
“I never saw his mother again, is what I’m trying to tell you; she never visited him again; she abandoned the boy,” Fat Joe said, adding that he, his mother and father were the people who “raised” Joey. .
Fat Joe explained that he never made any efforts to prevent Joey’s mother from seeing him.
“It’s not that he kept the door closed so she couldn’t see her son,” the All the Way Up singer said. “He was always available so she could see her son.”
The Get It Poppin’ artist said that “a father has to be a father” and never took the task of raising his children lightly.
“I have to take care of my kids anyway and do everything I can for them,” Fat Joe said. “I don’t know how to give up my children, I don’t know how not to love them, that’s impossible.”
Fat Joe, who is also father to son Ryan, 27, from a previous relationship, and daughter Azariah, 17, with wife Lorena Cartagena, said he doesn’t “know how to be a fake dad.”
Fat Joe said Joey, who has been diagnosed with autism several times, constantly stays in good spirits despite the “challenges” he faces in life.
“This guy is happy,” Fat Joe said. ‘I swear to God, he’s always happy. He is never sad. He says, “If you’re stuck in one place, he’s stuck in happiness.”
The New York City native recalled how doctors informed him and Joey’s mother of the diagnoses after his birth.
The musical artist posted a pair of photos on December 16 in celebration of Joey’s birthday.
The artist, whose full name is Joseph Antonio Cartagena, told Sharpe: “His mother said, ‘I can’t do this, I’m going to have to give him up for adoption.’
Fat Joe explained that he never made any efforts to prevent Joey’s mother from seeing him.
The Get It Poppin’ artist said that ‘a father has to be a father’ and never took the task of raising his children lightly
He said Joey “does what he wants” and “gets what he wants” as “the Don” of the family.
“You sit at the end of the table and you know, ‘Oh, those are my little brothers and sisters,'” Fat Joe said. “He is our greatest blessing because we treat him the way we do because we never gave up on him.”
The musical artist posted a pair of photos on December 16 in celebration of Joey’s birthday.
“God bless my firstborn, little Joey,” he said. ‘I love you with all my heart… Happy birthday Joey, you are the greatest blessing in the world. More life, more greatness. I will always be by your side.’