Paris Jackson was born into an unimaginable world. After all, Michael Jackson was the King of Pop.
Since his passing, Paris Jackson has managed to persevere - through mental illness,
substance abuse, and family tragedy. Here are the tragic details about Paris Jackon's life.
As a child, Paris didn't have a relationship with her biological mother, Debbie Rowe. According to
ABC News, Michael Jackson's ex-wife had, quote, "almost no contact" with Paris and her eldest
brother Prince for nearly a decade. It was something Rowe chose voluntarily she gave
up custody during the divorce in 2000 and relinquished parental rights during
a separate hearing in 2001. In the midst of the latter, the mother of two told the court,
quote, "They're his kids. They are not my kids." Rowe revealed to ABC News:
"I did it for [Michael Jackson] to become a father, not for me to become a mother.
You earn the title parent. I have done absolutely nothing to earn that title."
That sentiment didn't last forever. According to ABC News, Rowe planned to seek custody of the
kids in 2009. Extra uncovered alleged emails in the month after Michael's death, however,
where the mom of two supposedly revealed that she didn't actually want custody. Rather, she
didn't want to, quote, "look like the woman who gave away her kids and just forgot about them."
According to People, Paris and Rowe only publicly reconciled in 2013.
"The legendary King of Pop, Michael Jackson,
passed away on Thursday, June 25th, 2009 at 2:26pm."
When Paris was 11 years old, she had to endure the tragic death of her father. According to CNN,
the King of Pop was planning his comeback tour when he died from an overdose of propofol,
a drug he was reportedly using to treat his insomnia. Jackson's death was ruled a homicide,
and Dr. Conrad Murray, who had been administering the surgical anesthetic
every night for about two months, was ultimately convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
The Jackson family leveled a wrongful death suit against AEG
Live, the concert promoters behind Michael's This Is It tour. Though AEG won the lawsuit
with jurors accepting their claim that Michael was at fault for his
own death Paris still slammed the company in her Rolling Stone interview, claiming:
"AEG Live does not treat their performers right. They drain them dry and work them to death."
Paris was uniquely close to her father, and she never completely healed from the pop star's death,
but she told Rolling Stone that she doesn't expect to, admitting:
"They always say, 'Time heals,' but it really doesn't. You just get used to it. I live life with
the mentality of 'OK, I lost the only thing that has ever been important to me.' So going forward,
anything bad that happens can't be nearly as bad as what happened before. So I can handle it."
Michael Jackson's memorial service was so monumental that it was broadcast in Times Square,
and Paris Jackson's unexpected, unplanned speech was perhaps the most heart-breaking moment.
"Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine.”
"And I just wanted to say I love him."
According to TIME, this was the first time the child, whose father largely shielded
her from the paparazzi, spoke in public. Following her statement,
she was embraced by her aunt Janet Jackson and whisked off stage as some of the
21,000 members in the audience wept. AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips told TIME:
"I lost it. I almost short-circuited my walkie-talkie crying into it.
Kenny Ortega, Michael's longtime collaborator, told the magazine:
"I've never seen a girl love her daddy as much as Paris loved Michael.
It wasn't planned. She was also his No. 1 fan. And it came through there."
Following Michael's death, Paris and her siblings moved in with their grandmother,
Katherine Jackson. This living situation proved to be difficult because it lacked structure,
and it's when Paris first began to self-harm.
In an episode of her Facebook Watch series, Unfiltered: Paris Jackson and Gabriel Glenn, the
King of Pop's only daughter revealed that she'd been living a, quote, "very healthy" lifestyle
with her father, but when she moved in with her grandmother, quote, "there were no rules."
"So I gained a lot of weight. And so it became an addiction."
She went on to explain:
"And then a cousin called me fat and I was like,
'OK, I can't do that anymore.' And that's how I fell into self-harm."
Paris claimed that she didn't think her self-harming behavior would ever
claim her life. Instead, she was desperately seeking control in a world of chaos, saying:
"I was always the one that was in control of the razor."
"Part of it was the dopamine release. And dopamine is called dope for a reason, it feels good.”
According to Paris:
"Part of it was that and then it was also a distraction from emotional
pain and transferring to physical pain and the need for control."
Paris hasn't spoken a whole lot on the subject, but she did endure abuse as a teen.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, the singer revealed that she was sexually assaulted by a,
quote, "complete stranger" when she was 14 years old.
At the time, Jackson felt like she didn't fit in with many of her peers at private school.
She was habitually bullied online and eventually fell in with a crowd of,
quote, "a lot of older people doing a lot of crazy things."
She hid her traumatic assault from the public and told Rolling Stone:
"I don't wanna give too many details. But it was not a good experience at all,
and it was really hard for me, and, at the time, I didn't tell anybody."
Paris Jackson's self-harm would eventually escalate.
"Yes, I tried to kill myself many times."
In 2013, Paris was 15 years old and in the midst of major depression and a drug addiction.
She cut her wrists and took 20 pills of Motrin, and was sent to the Diamond Ranch Academy,
a therapeutic school in Utah, shortly thereafter. Paris told Rolling Stone:
"It was just self-hatred, low self-esteem,
thinking that I couldn't do anything right, not thinking I was worthy of living anymore."
According to the Daily Mail, who parsed through reports from The Sun and The New York Post,
this was not an easy road for her. Paris' family allegedly feared that she'd relapse amidst her
father's wrongful death suit — especially if she had access to Twitter and the Internet.
Paris told Rolling Stone that her time in Utah seemingly helped, saying:
"It was great for me. I'm a completely different person.
I was crazy. I was actually crazy. I was going through a lot of, like,
teen angst. And I was also dealing with my depression and my anxiety without any help."
Three years later, though, Paris seemed to have a different opinion.
"The problems that I went there with got fixed, but I left with way more than I came in with."
Paris has been on the mend despite tabloid reports that surfaced in 2019, shortly after the release
of HBO's documentary Leaving Neverland. According to Billboard, the singer, who has adamantly
maintained her father's innocence, brushed off claims by TMZ that she had been hospitalized
following an attempt on her own life, tweeting: "lies lies lies omg and more lies"
Strangely enough, this was aimed at Real Housewives of New York's Bethenny Frankel,
who reacted to TMZ's alleged false report with:
"we are the product of our parents' unresolved issues"
Both Jackson and Frankel's tweets have since been deleted, and a source told
Billboard that while Jackson did receive medical treatment, it was not for a suicide attempt.
Paris was reportedly estranged from her mother for more than a year when the pair
reconnected in July 2016. Unfortunately, it wasn't under the best circumstances.
Debbie Rowe had been diagnosed with breast cancer,
and it was the fear of losing another parent that allegedly brought the pair together.
According to TMZ, Jackson reached out to Rowe ahead of her surgery with a digital olive branch,
a simple "I love you" text. This opened up the doors, and according to People,
Jackson stuck by her mother's side throughout treatment,
even posting a photo on Instagram kissing Rowe's head. She captioned it:
"i'm a fighter because she's a fighter. love you mom"
Rowe, who had her last round of chemotherapy treatment in early 2017,
told Entertainment Tonight that Jackson had been her, quote, "rock."
"She's amazing. She's been with me the whole time.
First phone call, took her 30 seconds when she found out."
Rowe added:
"For her to kiss my bald head, [her love] is pretty unconditional."
Paris spent much of 2018 dodging awful tabloid rumors that claimed she was a
partier on the brink of a breakdown. This included a gutting Radar Online
report titled "Jackson Family 'Terrified' Rail-Thin Paris Will Die From Drugs Like
Late Dad Michael," which cruelly claimed that, quote, "it seems like no one can save her."
The singer was rightly upset, and took to Twitter to slam the report, saying:
"i've never once given the impression that I'm someone who likes to party but they’re
literally claiming i go out every single night. and because i’m an advocate for medical marijuana,
they’re saying i’m a hardcore addict [...] i've never read an article from
radar about myself that's actually true, but this is crossing a line."
"Most tabloid places want clickbait and drama and excitement and fights,
and this, that, and the other. The things that get people amped up."
A lot of the speculation happened following Demi Lovato's accidental overdose in July.
According to CNN, reports claimed that the incident convinced Paris to check herself into
rehab, but that wasn't exactly the case. In an Instagram Story captured by CNN, Jackson revealed:
"Ummm no?? I haven't gone to a clinic.. someone doesn't have to almost die for
me to know to be healthy, I've already had friends OD and die. That's enough for me."
Though Paris initially denied claims that she was headed to rehab 2018, reports from the start of
2019 told a different story. Radar Online claimed the star primarily sought treatment for alcohol
abuse and mental health issues amidst a so-called, quote, "rocky road of self-destruction." But
Entertainment Tonight, who first reported on the alleged news, wasn't quite so dramatic.
A source told the magazine:
"[Jackson] decided that she needed to take some time off to reboot,
realign and prioritize her physical and emotional health.
She checked herself into a treatment facility to aid in her wellness plan."
Though Paris didn't publicly address whether or not she actually went to rehab,
Radar Online found some evidence that she was in recovery. Paparazzi shot a
photo of the star walking her dog and reportedly captured a 30-day sobriety
chip from Narcotics Anonymous that was clipped to her keychain.
In 2020, Paris hit the road with her band Soundflowers. The duo which includes her
now ex-boyfriend Gabriel Glenn embarked on a European tour, but Jackson reportedly
skipped out on a show after she fell ill. Radar Online suggested she was,
quote, "heading for a meltdown" and that the star canceled her appearance because
of prescription pills, but Paris has been open about her aversion to medication.
"I'm not a fan of medications."
"And it just kind of clouded my third eye."
She went on to explain:
"For me, my depression comes in waves, so even though the lows are unbearably low,
I would still rather that than nothing."
Paris hasn't exactly had an easy life. That's just the price of being Michael Jackson's daughter.
In an episode of Unfiltered, the singer revealed that her past trauma is what
drives her to create, and it's led her to the family business, saying:
"Whether it was him passing or all the s--- that has happened to me in my life.
If I don't talk about it or if I don't put it in the music,
it's going to completely ruin my life and it's going to own me."
Today, Paris seems like she's stronger than she's ever been and it's impossible
to argue that the little girl who gave that speech at her dad's memorial service
wasn't strong, to begin with. Even so, she's still human,
and she still finds self-acceptance hard. During an episode Unfiltered, Paris revealed that she,
quote, "struggle[s] to accept herself," and it's always a work in progress, saying:
"I want to influence self-acceptance and courage and being comfortable in your own skin."
"I'm just working on content. I'm trying to just be content. Baby steps, you know?
Self-love s--- is hard."
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call or chat online with
the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).