Losing a parent is one of those life-changing experiences that are difficult to sum up for anyone who hasn’t experienced them first hand.
I can only imagine how difficult it must be to process the grief and immense sense of change that comes with the passing of a mother or father. I can’t begin to fathom how difficult those things are when the affected children find themselves scrutinized by the media.
Michael Jackson’s children were still young when he died in 2009 – Prince was 12, Paris was 11, and Jackson’s youngest, Blanket, was just 7. The much-loved King of Pop was just weeks out from starting his farewell tour This Is It when his life ended, much to the shock of the entertainment industry and beyond.
The world lost a cultural icon, while Prince, Paris, and Blanket lost their father. At Jackson’s televised memorial service, billions tuned in and watched Paris take the stage to offer a heart-rending tribute.
Paris described her dad as the “best father you could ever imagine” before bursting into tears.
Following MJ’s death, his children were taken in by their grandmother Katherine, a strict Jehovah’s Witness who ran things differently to how the kids were accustomed.
In 2021 Paris sat down during an episode of the Red Table Talk podcast to discuss life after her father’s death at 50.
After being asked how she summoned the strength to “keep going” after MJ’s abrupt passing, Pais answered: “I don’t know, it kind of just happened.”
She added: “I was so young that I wasn’t conscious of ‘I’ve gotta keep going’.
“I was just going through the motions and didn’t really understand what was happening, and so I just went with what I was told to do and, ‘Okay, I’m living here now, okay, I’m going to school now and I’m not home-schooled anymore, I’ll just do what I’m told’.
“Because I didn’t really have much guidance.”
With their father gone, Jackson’s children ceased their homeschooling and traveling the world with their dad, instead attending traditional school and living under the strict supervision of their grandmother Katherine.
Paris, though, said she has respect for all the family members who helped to raise them.
“I’m still very close with my brothers, and I see my family during family reunions and I tell them all the time, ‘If you wanna call me, call me. I’ve got love and respect for all you guys’.
“I just saw my cousins for Thanksgiving and Christmas, even though we don’t call it that because a lot of them are Jehovah’s Witnesses [who don’t celebrate holidays or birthdays], so we’re just like ‘family reunion during the holidays’.”
This past weekend, Paris stole headlines for covering up all 80 of her tattoos for the Grammy Awards. The 25-year-old explained that she chose to do so in order to stop the art taking away from her outfit.
“I love my piercings and my tattoos, all the body mod stuff, but sometimes it can distract from the art,” she said.
