Why Michael Jackson's Daughter Paris Gets Hate From Fans on His Birthday
In an Instagram video, Paris Jackson denounced trolls who send her abusive messages annually.
On what would have been his 65th birthday, Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris Jackson, sent a message to some of the late singer's more toxic fans. In a video posted to Instagram on Aug. 29, the 25-year-old revealed that she has been sent abuse annually on her father's birthday. Paris claimed that this happens whenever she doesn't post a tribute to her late father, but she also explains her reasoning for letting his birthday go unmentioned. Michael's daughter slammed trolls who she says even tell her she should "kill herself" and made a suggestion as to how his fans can honor him in a way that doesn't involve sending hate to his family members. Read on to find out more.
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Michael didn't like getting a lot of attention on his birthday.
Warning: Explicit language in video above.
In her video, Paris first explains that Michael didn't like being the center of attention on his birthday. "He actually didn't want us to even know when his birthday was because he didn't want us to throw a party or anything like that," she said, seemingly referring to herself and her two brothers, 26-year-old Prince Jackson and 21-year-old Bigi Jackson.
"That being said," she continues, "social media is apparently how people express their love and affection these days. And if you don't wish someone a happy birthday via social media, it apparently means that you don't love them, you don't care about them."
As some people pointed out in the comments, Michael's attitude towards birthdays could be related to the fact that he was a Jehovah's Witness for much of his life, and Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate birthdays. Michael left the denomination in 1987.
She has received hateful messages.
In the clip, Paris goes on to explain that when she doesn't post anything on social media for Michael's birthday, she gets abusive and even violent messages from some of his fans.
"There have been times where I don't post anything for my dad's birthday, and people lose their [expletive] minds," the singer said. "They tell me to kill myself. And they're basically measuring my love for my own father based off of what I post on Instagram."
In the caption of the video, she wrote, "Please don't use a man you have never met as an excuse to abuse, manipulate, and harass his daughter (who you also have never met)."
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She honored Michael at a recent performance.
In her post, Paris, who is a singer, included a clip of herself on stage at a recent concert she performed with the bands Incubus and Badflower.
"It's also my dad's birthday and he would have been 65 years old today," she tells the crowd in the clip. "And he put 50 years of blood, sweat, and tears and love and passion into doing what he did, so that I could stand up here onstage in front of you and scream into a microphone. So, I owe everything to him."
She told fans how they could better pay tribute to Michael.
Speaking to the camera again, Paris shares ideas for how fans of Michael can celebrate his birthday more positively.
"Now, if you are an M.J. superfan and you want to do something that he would have loved, which is not celebrate his birthday, my suggestion would be, you know, there's always ways to get involved with raising awareness for climate change, doing stuff for the environment, animal rights activism—these were things that he loved and he was very, very interested in."
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Some fans continued arguing with her.
In response to her post, Paris received support from fans and other public figures. Musician Questlove wrote, "that's what's up." Designer Jeremy Scott commented, "SPEAKING TRUTH." Evan Ross, an actor and the son of Diana Ross, wrote, "Love u sis."
Many fans of Michael showed their love, too. "Y'all better leave her alone Michael wouldn't like y'all saying bad things to his children! Real fans know that!" wrote one supporter. Another posted, "Michael would be so proud of you I'm so sorry for all of the hate you get."
However, not every comment was positive. One person wrote, "U lost me at climate change." Another similarly commented, "Climate change is a liberal pov … Please don't reduce [Michael] to what your liberal views are."
Someone else tried to correct Paris and claim Michael did enjoy celebrating his birthday: "@MichaelJackson literally celebrated his birthday on stage. On tour, at the MTV VMAs, etc. At what point did he start not liking his birthday celebrated?" Another person chose to share their opinion on Paris' appearance, saying, "You made this whole video just to show you don't shave your armpits. Lol wow."
Paris has admitted to struggling with internet hate.
This is not the first time that Paris has spoken out about being cyberbullied. In 2016, when she was 18, she said that the hate she received online led to a suicide attempt three years earlier, as reported by Seventeen.
"I've tried sticking up for myself," Paris said in an Instagram video at the time. "I've tried the whole blocking the haters thing, not reading the comments. I've tried a lot of things—ignoring it. But it's hard when there's so much of it."
She continued, "I don't get why I'm such an easy target. I try to be nice to everyone I meet; I give everyone a chance. I'm usually a very trusting person."
In another social media post from the same year, Paris said that threats were also being sent to the family of her boyfriend at the time, Michael Snoddy. "People are literally making fake accounts to harass and bully the mother of my boyfriend. How far is this going to go? Makes me sick," she tweeted, as reported by Entertainment Tonight. "It's all about L O V E, right? If you're a moonwalker, prove it. The more hate you spread, the more of a hypocrite you are."
If you are or a loved one is struggling with suicide or depression, you can call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.
