Celebrity3 min(s) read
Paris Jackson has explained why she and her siblings were made to use face coverings as children, while out and about with their father, Michael Jackson.
In the late 90s and early 2000s, after becoming a father to three children, Michael Jackson was never far from the headlines.
One particular tabloid fascination was around how he made his kids - Prince, now 29, Paris, now 28, and Bigi (also known as Blanket), now 24 - appear in public with masks or scarves covering their faces.
Following the singer's death at the age of 50 in 2009, his children were seen at his funeral and have maintained varying degrees of fame in the resulting years.
His daughter, Paris, opened up about why she and her brothers were often seen with face coverings, telling Alex Cooper on the Call Her Daddy podcast that it was so they could maintain some level of privacy while existing within one of the most famous families.
The host asked: "Something so many people were obsessed with was how your dad would have you and your brothers wear masks and cover your faces when you'd go out in public. How did you make sense of that as a kid?"
Paris revealed: "It just made sense because it was like 'if you do this now then you can go to Chuck E. Cheese and be normal this weekend because no one will know who you are.'"
Alex then highlighted that it "really p***ed the press off," as they wanted to see the children's faces, to which Paris joked: "What doesn't?"
While Paris admitted that there seemed to be a sense that the public was "entitled" to their lives due to the family they were born into, she says she "always felt protected" as they had "security".
While things would often get "crazy" when they went out together, Paris revealed that she knew there was "an adult you could grab onto" at any moment for safety.
As well as protecting their privacy, Michael's former bodyguard, Matt Fiddes, claimed the star would use things such as face coverings and bandages on his nose to create headlines.
He explained to Metro that it was designed to create a sense of "mystery" rather than hiding his own identity, and have people guessing as to the reason why.
"He knew how to manipulate the media. He knew exactly how to get the front pages. He used to have a meeting as soon as he got to a [city]," the bodyguard explained.
"Ninety percent of the time it worked, by putting a mask on his face, or sticky tape on his hands – or tape on his nose was a favourite one. He would say he wanted his life to be the greatest mystery on Earth."
Matt also revealed on the Elite podcast with Lee Matthews: "He knew how to play the media and keep relevant.
"The sticky tape and the tape on his nose and the makeup and the fedora and the mask and the sunglasses...
"It was all staged. He wanted people to think his nose was falling off. It was allergy tape."
4 min(s) read
.webp_vBqgAR?tr=cr-242.0.1293.1051,f-webp,q-70,w-1024)
3 min(s) read
3 min(s) read
2 min(s) read
2 min(s) read
celebrity4 min(s) read
celebrity3 min(s) read
celebrity3 min(s) read
celebrity2 min(s) read
Michael Jackson's son, Prince, has opened up about the reason why his famous father used to cover his children's faces in public.
The King of Pop tragically passed away over 15 years ago, leaving behind an incredible legacy of music and performances that will forever cement him as one of the greatest artists of all time.
However, Jackson was also known for making headlines for some more bizarre reasons throughout his decades-long career.
From creating his own private theme park at Neverland Ranch home to owning a chimp called Bubbles, Jackson was far from your average pop star.
In fact, some of his seemingly bizarre quirks were also highlighted in his actions as a father.
Jackson was a father to three children - Prince, 27, Paris, 26, and Bigi (formerly known as Blanket), 22.
One element of Jackson's parenting that would often make headlines and be reported in newspapers was the fact he would hide his kids' faces with masks and blankets when they were young.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times in 2016, Prince opened up about why this was, telling the outlet: "My dad spoke to me like an adult.
"He told us the reason for the masks was he wanted us to have our own life without him."
"I don't think I ever thought about if other kids lived like that when I was younger," Prince continued, "But once I knew who he was, I realized it wasn’t normal."
Recalling a specific memory from a trip to Disneyland, Prince added: "I went to the window and there were all these fans waving and taking pictures of me.
"I thought it was normal, so I just waved back.
"You could say my whole life has been unconventional."
Prince added that he "really loved" his upbringing, and that he truly learned what his father meant to his fans when he saw videos of him performing.
"People were fainting and passing out, when I realized the work he did meant a lot to people," Prince added.
Back in 2021, Jackson's daughter - Paris - spoke to supermodel Naomi Campbell on her YouTube series No Filter, where she opened up about her father's parenting style.
Paris revealed that her dad always ensured his children "earned" their privilege.
"My dad was really good at making sure we were cultured, making sure we were educated, and not just showing us like the glitz and the glam, like hotel hopping, five-star places," Paris told Campbell.
"We saw everything. We saw third-world countries - we saw every part of the spectrum," she added. "Growing up, it was about earning stuff. If we wanted five toys from FAO Schwartz or Toys R Us, we had to read five books.
"It’s earning it, not just being entitled to certain things or thinking, ‘Oh I got this.’ It’s working for it, working hard for it - it’s, it’s something else entirely, it’s an accomplishment."
Paris was just 11 years old when her father passed away back in 2009. But she claims that her father's teachings have continued to play a huge role in how she manages her own career today.
After Campbell suggested that Paris was surely too famous to audition or turn up for model castings, the now-26-year-old said that she has remained "a full believer that [she] should earn everything".
"I work hard, I study scripts, I do my thing," she added.
Michael Jackson was 50 years old when he died.
Paris Jackson has spoken out about her father - the music legend Michael Jackson - and his parenting techniques for his children.
When you picture Michael Jackson, you will either think of the young lead star of the 60s sibling group The Jackson 5 or as the unstoppable King of Pop throughout the 80s and 90s. However, due to his huge on-stage persona, it is very difficult to picture Jacko as a father.
Nevertheless, Michael Jackson was a father to three children - 24-year-old Prince, 22-year-old Paris, and 19-year-old Bigi (formerly Blanket).
Now, model and musician Paris has given fans a glimpse into what life was like growing up with Michael Jackson as her father.
Related - Paris shares rare footage of father in documentary trailer:
Speaking to supermodel Naomi Campbell for her YouTube series No Filter, Paris revealed that her father always ensured his children "earned" their privilege.
"My dad was really good at making sure we were cultured, making sure we were educated, and not just showing us like the glitz and the glam, like hotel hopping, five-star places," Paris told Campbell.
"We saw everything. We saw third-world countries - we saw every part of the spectrum," she added.
Credit: Allstar / AlamyParis then explained: "Growing up, it was about earning stuff. If we wanted five toys from FAO Schwartz or Toys R Us, we had to read five books.
"It’s earning it, not just being entitled to certain things or thinking, ‘Oh I got this.’ It’s working for it, working hard for it - it’s, it’s something else entirely, it’s an accomplishment."
Paris was just 11 years old when her father passed away back in 2009. Michael was 50 years old when he died.
But Paris claims that her father's teachings have continued to play a huge role in how she manages her own career today.
After Campbell suggested that Paris was surely too famous to audition or turn up for model castings, the 22-year-old said that she has remained "a full believer that [she] should earn everything."
"I work hard, I study scripts, I do my thing," she added.
The two models also spoke about how Michael's love of all music impacted Paris' own taste and style.
"I'm obviously a fan of [her dad's] music," she said. "I know all of the lyrics to all of the songs, and I will definitely jam out to them."
Paris then added: "I know you kind of got to know my father a little bit, so I'm sure you knew that he loved classical music, and he loved jazz, and hip-hop, and RnB, and obviously the Motown stuff.
"But also, like, the radio's Top 40, he loved rock music, soft-rock, The Beatles - like, so we group up around all of that and I feel like all of that somehow influences my stuff."
In a world increasingly measured by social media interactions, Paris Jackson found herself navigating a digital minefield as she attempted to honor her late father, Michael Jackson, on what would've been his 65th birthday.
The 25-year-old model and singer, who is Michael's middle child, recently posted an Instagram video to address why she doesn't always celebrate her father's birthday on social media.
But she ended up dealing with unexpected trolls targeting her for something entirely different.
Check out the video she is being trolled over:The video caught attention for more than its intended message. As she pulled her hair up into a bun, Paris inadvertently exposed her armpit hair, leading to a barrage of critical comments.
"You made this whole video just to show you don’t shave your armpits. Lol wow," one comment read. "Shaving armpits is a kinda cleanliness," said another, while a third user even demanded, "Shave your armpits."
Not one to stay silent, Paris took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to clap back at the trolls. "I wasn’t tying my hair up to show off my armpit hair," she retorted. "I’ve not shaved it for years and forget it’s there all the time. Get over yourselves.” Showing her cheeky side, she added, "I was pulling my hair up to show my glass-cutting jawline."
The original intent of the video was to shed light on her complicated relationship with social media, especially when it comes to remembering her father, the King of Pop, who died in 2009.
"Today’s my dad’s birthday, and back when he was alive, he used to hate anybody acknowledging his birthday," Paris shared in the clip. "He actually didn’t even want us to know when his birthday was because he didn’t want us to throw a party or anything like that."
Further highlighting the harsh realities of social media culture, Paris opened up about the backlash she receives for not posting about her father. "There have been times where I don’t post anything for my dad’s birthday and people lose their f***ing minds. They tell me to kill myself," she shared.
This is a striking example of how the digital age has complicated the way we express love and remember loved ones, turning it into a very public affair that can be both celebratory and toxic.
But Paris didn't stop at explaining her actions; she took to the stage to pay a heartfelt tribute to her father.
"It’s also my dad’s birthday. And he would have been 65 years old today," she shared with the audience. A touring artist since July, with bands Incubus and Badflower, Paris released her first single 'Let Down' in 2020.
Elsewhere in the video, she encouraged fans to honor her father by getting involved in climate change and animal rights activism, which are "things that he loved."
Michael Jackson's daughter has revealed what it was like being raised by the King of Pop in a candid new interview.
Speaking to Naomi Campbell on her YouTube series No Filter, 22-year-old Paris Jackson spoke about how she was daughter by her father to work hard and not expect easy handouts.
Take a look at the interview with Paris in the video below:In the interview in question, which was uploaded on Wednesday, April 30, Paris stated:
"If we wanted five toys from FAO Schwarz or Toys R Us, we had to read five books.
"It's about earning it, not just being entitled to certain things or thinking: 'Oh I got this.' It's like working for it, working hard for it. It's something else entirely. It's an accomplishment."
She continued: "It was a blessing and privilege to be able to experience so much at a young age.
"My dad was really good about making sure we were cultured, making sure we were educated and not just showing us like the glitz and glam, hotel hopping, five-star places, but it was also like we saw everything.
"We saw third-world countries and we saw every part of the spectrum."
This interview comes not too long after Paris revealed that her pop star father tried his best to ensure she felt comfortable talking about her sexuality.
Speaking in the Facebook Watch series Unfiltered: Paris Jackson and Gabriel Glenn, Paris stated: "I say I'm gay because I guess I am.
"But I wouldn't consider myself bisexual because I've dated more than just men and women, I've dated a man that had a vagina. It has nothing to do what's in your pants, it's literally like, what are you like as a person?"
She added: "I think [my father] felt the energy and he would tease me the same way he'd tease my brothers. Like, 'You got yourself a girlfriend!' if I were staring at a magazine of a woman too hard.
"I'm very lucky to have that, especially so young, eight or nine. Not many children have that experience."
Michael Jackson died nearly a decade ago, but he lives on through his timeless music, that bizarre Moonwalker arcade game, and of course, his three children: Paris, Prince Michael Jr., and Prince Michael II, aka Blanket. You don't know what Blanket looks like, but I'm sure you remember him. Michael always covered his face with a mask, and he famously dangled the baby off a hotel balcony, in an instantly controversial moment. (Maybe he was just recreating that scene from The Lion King).
Believe it or not, Blanket just turned 16. (I know. We're all so old.) His sister, Paris, is 19, and has become a celebrity in her own right, as a model, actress and activist. She's also active on social media, giving her 2.5 million followers a window into her personal life. However, photographs of Blanket have been scarce. Since his father died, he's only appeared in public a couple times. (Which seems appropriate, given Michael's desire to protect him from fame, and give him a normal childhood.)
In honor of Blanket's 16th birthday, Paris did what siblings do: share embarrassing childhood photos on social media. Okay, actually these photos aren't embarrassing. They're just cute. In the first photo, we see Blanket as a baby, without any mask obscuring his face. The caption reads, "My lil man is 16!!!!!"
In the second photo, we seen an older Blanket posing with Paris. (Maybe this one is recent?) The caption reads "Happy birthday honey i love you."
This third photo is a screenshot from Paris' phone. For her background, she has a picture of Blanket as a boy, with long hair, wearing a paper hat. The time is blocking his face, which seems to be intentional. In the caption, Paris writes, "Out of respect to my little brothers privacy i won't be posting too many pictures but omfg iSNT HE THE F****** CUTEST."
In case you're not familiar with your Michael Jackson family HIStory: Blanket was conceived via a surrogate, whose public identity is unknown. Meanwhile, Paris and Prince Michael Jr. share the same mother, American nurse Debbie Rowe. Prince Jr.'s 21st birthday was actually a couple days ago, and Paris showed him some love. On Instagram, she shared a rare home video the two as kids, dancing to The Notorious B.I.G.'s Juicy. (And that must be Michael in the background, telling them to dance, right?)
[[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BfIPegGnPht/]]
When Michael was alive, his controversial moments often overshadowed his music, especially in the later years. You can probably blame the relentless media coverage, as he frequently struggled with how to handle fame. I wonder how he would like today's world, where celebrities use social media to broadcast their own public image. Would MJ still be reclusive, or would he be on Instagram or Snapchat? We'll never know, but maybe Paris will use the Gram to give us more sneak peaks into their lives growing up. (Just don't recreate that balcony moment.)
.webp_lli6Ty?tr=cr-74.9.445.380,f-webp,q-70,w-100)
.webp_vBqgAR?tr=cr-242.0.1293.1051,f-webp,q-70,w-100)
