Paris Jackson, the only daughter of the late pop icon Michael Jackson, recently shared that despite being of mixed race, she identifies as a black woman.
Paris said that her father insisted that she be Black: ‘Be proud of your roots,’ and she honours her father’s roots and legacy — both musically and physically — noting, ‘I consider myself Black.’
Keep reading to learn more about Paris Jackson’s personality!
Paris Jackson, an American actress, model, and singer, was born on 3 April 1998 and is the daughter of Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe.
The 25-year-old Paris and her two brothers, Biggie, 22, and Prince, 27, were born into the spotlight, and many fans wanted to know everything about the new members of the Jackson family.
When they were young, the Billie Jean singer tried to protect his children from prying eyes with blankets (for Biggie), masks and veils.
In 2007, Jackson’s bodyguard told People magazine that the three children were “well-behaved, well-mannered children… They are very well-adjusted… They were Michael’s top priority.”
But in 2009, with the death of their father, the layer of protection was removed, and the children found themselves alone in the public eye, becoming highly lucrative prey for the paparazzi.
As a result, Paris developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She shared: ‘I have auditory hallucinations, sometimes with camera clicks, severe paranoia, and I go to therapy for many issues, including this one.’
The girl also admitted that by the age of 15 she had attempted suicide ‘several times’ and in 2019 she was admitted to a treatment facility.
She said: ‘It was self-hatred… Low self-esteem, thoughts that I couldn’t do anything right, I didn’t think I was worthy of living.’
He is the one who is my father.”
Today, she relies heavily on the influence of her older brother, Prince Michael Jackson, about whom she says, ‘He is everything to me, you know?’ In 2020, she told People about her relationship with Prince: ‘I always looked up to him, always wanted his approval and everything else, wanted to be more like him.’
However, Prince says his younger sister is more like their father. ‘Basically, as a person, she’s just like my father. The only difference is her age and gender.’
He adds that his younger sister is like their father ‘in all his virtues and almost all his flaws. She’s very passionate.’
In addition to being very passionate about her career — she has walked the runway for major fashion brands such as Chanel and is also the lead singer and guitarist for the band The Soundflowers — she also strives to honour her father’s legacy.
‘Everyone in my family is involved in music. I mean, I’m a Jackson,’ she said in 2020. ‘It makes sense that I’m a musician, but as a Jackson performing folk indie?’
All about race
On issues of race, she also agrees with her late father.
While the Beat It singer had light skin at the end of his life, the hitmaker — who reportedly suffered from vitiligo, a condition that alters the pigmentation of his skin — was an African American who had a darker complexion in his early years.
Jackson faced a lot of speculation about his changing appearance throughout his career and always denied that he bleached his skin.
In a 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Thriller star claimed that a nose job was the only cosmetic procedure he had undergone and that his skin depigmentation was caused by his vitiligo.
‘I’m proud of my race. I’m proud of who I am,’ Jackson told Winfrey at the time.
Given her father’s African American heritage, Paris says she identifies as Black.
Discussing the situation with Rolling Stone magazine in 2017, Paris said that she ‘considers herself black’ and that ‘[Michael] would look me in the eye, point his finger at me and say, “You are black. Be proud of your roots.”’
Talking about her fair skin and noting that many people — because of her dyed blonde hair and striking blue eyes — assume she is from ‘Finland or something like that,’ she adds: “And I say, ‘Well, he’s my father, why would he lie to me? So I just believed what he told me. [Because, as far as I know, he’s never lied to me.”
Když mluví o své světlé pleti a poznamenává, že mnoho lidí – kvůli jejím barveným světlým vlasům a nápadným modrým očím – předpokládá, že pochází z „Finska nebo něčeho podobného“, dodává: „A já říkám: ‚No dobře, je to můj otec, proč by mi lhal?‘ Tak jsem prostě uvěřila tomu, co mi řekl. [Protože pokud vím, nikdy mi nelhal.“
Není divu, že po zveřejnění jejího prohlášení o rasové příslušnosti byla terčem kritiky. Moderátorka talk show Wendy Williams se vyjádřila velmi ostře a vysmála se Jacksonově jediné dceři za to, že se identifikuje jako černoška: „Chápu, že se považuje za černošku a tak, ale mluvím jen o vizuálním vnímání, protože víte… černoch není to, jak se nazýváte, ale to, jak vás vidí policajti, když mají ocel na krku při otočce.“
Dodává: „To je to, co vidí. Ale je to milé a dobré pro ni.“
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Unsurprisingly, she has been criticised since publishing her statement about her race. Talk show host Wendy Williams was particularly harsh, mocking Jackson’s only daughter for identifying as a black woman: ‘I understand that she considers herself black and all that, but I’m just talking about visual perception, because you know… black isn’t what you call yourself, it’s how the cops see you when they have steel around your neck at a turn.’
She adds: ‘That’s what they see. But it’s nice and good for her.’
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