Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Paris Jackson says she will ‘always’ be influenced by father Michael

Paris said that the singer raised his kids with ‘solid morals’

Isobel Lewis
Sunday 18 April 2021 16:53 BST
Comments
Paris Jackson opens up to Naomi Campbell about childhood with Michael Jackson

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Paris Jackson has said that she will “always” be influenced by the work of her late dad, Michael Jackson.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, the singer said that her father’s art was always on her mind, even when she herself wasn’t making pop music.

“I think he’ll always influence everything I do in some way, whether it’s subconscious or intentional,” she said.

“I was around that creativity all the time, so I’m sure I learnt a lot of what I have from that.”

Jackson also discussed growing up on the Neverland Ranch in California, describing how she was “very privileged” but still hard to “earn” treats like toys and rides at the amusement park.

“We were lucky enough to be raised with solid morals. He would be like, ‘Oh, you want to go to Toys ‘R’ Us and get five toys? Great. You need to read five books — and I will test you on those books,’” she recalled.

“It was very clear to us that those rides and the zoo were for underprivileged children – children who were sick and couldn’t go to Disneyland. If we were good, and we did our homework and we worked hard throughout the week, maybe we could go at the weekends, but we had to earn it.”

Over the years, Paris has rarely spoken about her life with her father, who died in 2009 when she was aged 11.

However, in a recent interview with Naomi Campbell, the 23-year-old revealed that Michael made sure they were “cultured” and “educated”.

“We saw everything,” she said. “We saw third world countries. We saw every part of the spectrum.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in