Paris Jackson has insisted she is an African-American because her father Michael always told her she was. In a revealing interview, she opened up on speculation the King of Pop was not her biological father and how he told her to be proud of his roots. The 18-year-old said most people call her white and her looks resemble those of a Finnish girl, but she said, ‘I consider myself black’.
The aspiring actress told Rolling Stone Magazine her dad would look at her, point his finger at her and say, ‘You’re black. Be proud of your roots’.
‘I’d be like, ‘OK, he’s my dad, why would he lie to me?’
‘So I just believe what he told me. Cause, to my knowledge, he’s never lied to me.
‘Most people that don’t know me call me white. I’ve got light skin and, especially since I’ve had my hair blond, I look like I was born in Finland or something.’
But she insisted she had seen mixed-race children that resemble her complexion – pointing out TV actor Wentworth Miller who has a black father and a white mom.
Given the drastic difference in Paris and Michael’s look as children, there has been much speculation of the teenager’s hereditary line.
The King of Pop burst onto the scene as a young black singer with an afro in the Jackson Five.
Over the course of his career, and through a multitude of surgeries, his skin pigmentation changed to a very pale white.
Paris and her siblings are aware of the doubts Michael is her biological father, but fiercely oppose the suggestion.
‘He is my father,’ she told Rolling Stone’s Brian Hiatt.
‘He will always be my father. He never wasn’t, and he never will not be.
‘People that knew him really well say they see him in me, that it’s almost scary.’
Paris said growing up she didn’t know she had a living mother but they reconnected when she was 13 and again at 16 when she was receiving treatment.
But she maintains she never sought a maternal figure.
‘I’ve had a lot of mother figures. But by the time my mom came into my life, it wasn’t a ‘mommy’ thing. It’s more of an adult relationship.’
Paris and her siblings grew up on their dad’s 2,700-acre California estate, which featured an amusement park, zoo and movie theater.
But she insists her childhood was normal and they weren’t allowed to go on the rides whenever they wanted to.
‘We had school every single day, and we had to be good.
‘And if we were good, every other weekend or so, we could choose whether we were gonna go to the movie theater or see the animals or whatever.
‘But if you were on bad behavior, then you wouldn’t get to go do all those things,’ she said.
Despite being adamant his daughter was black, was more objective about sexuality in Neverland, according to Paris.
‘My dad raised me in a very open-minded house,’ she said.
‘I was eight years old, in love with this female on the cover of a magazine.
‘Instead of yelling at me, like most homophobic parents, he was making fun of me, like, ‘Oh, you got yourself a girlfriend.’
‘His number-one focus for us, besides loving us, was education.’
Paris also claimed her superstar father was murdered in the no-holds-barred interview.
She also revealed she tried to commit suicide multiple times after being raped as a teenager.
‘He would drop hints about people being out to get him,’ Paris said. ‘And at some point he was like, ‘They’re gonna kill me one day.’
‘It’s obvious. All arrows point to that. It sounds like a total conspiracy theory and it sounds like bulls***, but all real fans and everybody in the family knows it. It was a setup. It was bulls***.’
Paris was just 11 when Jackson died from cardiac arrest in 2009 caused by a lethal combination of prescription drugs.
Paris also revealed she was raped as a teen and opened up about her struggles with drug use and surviving ‘multiple’ suicide attempts.
She said a ‘much older complete stranger’ sexually assaulted her when she was just 14.
Paris spiraled into the depths of depression and drug addiction.
The teen tried to commit suicide several times and managed to hide her self harm injuries from her family for years.
The aspiring actress told Rolling Stone Magazine her dad would look at her, point his finger at her and say, ‘You’re black. Be proud of your roots’.
‘I’d be like, ‘OK, he’s my dad, why would he lie to me?’
‘So I just believe what he told me. Cause, to my knowledge, he’s never lied to me.
‘Most people that don’t know me call me white. I’ve got light skin and, especially since I’ve had my hair blond, I look like I was born in Finland or something.’
But she insisted she had seen mixed-race children that resemble her complexion – pointing out TV actor Wentworth Miller who has a black father and a white mom.
Given the drastic difference in Paris and Michael’s look as children, there has been much speculation of the teenager’s hereditary line.
The King of Pop burst onto the scene as a young black singer with an afro in the Jackson Five.
Over the course of his career, and through a multitude of surgeries, his skin pigmentation changed to a very pale white.
Paris and her siblings are aware of the doubts Michael is her biological father, but fiercely oppose the suggestion.
‘He is my father,’ she told Rolling Stone’s Brian Hiatt.
‘He will always be my father. He never wasn’t, and he never will not be.
‘People that knew him really well say they see him in me, that it’s almost scary.’
Paris said growing up she didn’t know she had a living mother but they reconnected when she was 13 and again at 16 when she was receiving treatment.
But she maintains she never sought a maternal figure.
‘I’ve had a lot of mother figures. But by the time my mom came into my life, it wasn’t a ‘mommy’ thing. It’s more of an adult relationship.’
Paris and her siblings grew up on their dad’s 2,700-acre California estate, which featured an amusement park, zoo and movie theater.
But she insists her childhood was normal and they weren’t allowed to go on the rides whenever they wanted to.
‘We had school every single day, and we had to be good.
‘And if we were good, every other weekend or so, we could choose whether we were gonna go to the movie theater or see the animals or whatever.
‘But if you were on bad behavior, then you wouldn’t get to go do all those things,’ she said.
Despite being adamant his daughter was black, was more objective about sexuality in Neverland, according to Paris.
‘My dad raised me in a very open-minded house,’ she said.
‘I was eight years old, in love with this female on the cover of a magazine.
‘Instead of yelling at me, like most homophobic parents, he was making fun of me, like, ‘Oh, you got yourself a girlfriend.’
‘His number-one focus for us, besides loving us, was education.’
Paris also claimed her superstar father was murdered in the no-holds-barred interview.
She also revealed she tried to commit suicide multiple times after being raped as a teenager.
‘He would drop hints about people being out to get him,’ Paris said. ‘And at some point he was like, ‘They’re gonna kill me one day.’
‘It’s obvious. All arrows point to that. It sounds like a total conspiracy theory and it sounds like bulls***, but all real fans and everybody in the family knows it. It was a setup. It was bulls***.’
Paris was just 11 when Jackson died from cardiac arrest in 2009 caused by a lethal combination of prescription drugs.
Paris also revealed she was raped as a teen and opened up about her struggles with drug use and surviving ‘multiple’ suicide attempts.
She said a ‘much older complete stranger’ sexually assaulted her when she was just 14.
Paris spiraled into the depths of depression and drug addiction.
The teen tried to commit suicide several times and managed to hide her self harm injuries from her family for years.
