Paris Jackson has made an honest admission about her father who passed away on 25 June, 2009.
The American model and singer was just 11 when the King of Pop died not long before his farewell world tour 'This Is It' was about to kick off.
After returning from rehearsals, Michael was killed from acute propofol intoxication, administered by his personal physician, Conrad Murray.
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Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in 2011, and was sentenced to four years in prison, serving one year and 11 months.
Prior to the verdict, fans will remember when the young girl took to the stage during the televised memorial service watched by billions around the world.
A teary-eyed Paris called Michael the 'best father you could ever imagine' as family members stepped in to console her.
However, her life changed in more ways than one after she and her brothers Prince and Blanket were taken in by their grandmother, Katherine.
She was a strict Jehovah's Witness and Paris was forced to adjust to a new way of living.
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Speaking to Willow Smith during an episode of Red Table Talk in 2021, Paris explained how she dealt with the loss of her father.
She was asked how she found 'the strength to keep going' after his passing at the age of 50, to which she replied: "I don't know, it kind of just happened."
Paris, who incredibly covered all of her 80 tattoos with makeup for the 2024 Grammy Awards, said: "I was so young that I wasn't conscious of 'I've gotta keep going'.
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She explained: "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."
Willow then touched on how the siblings came to terms with the Jackson family matriarch, Katherine, being named as their permanent guardian.
The singer said: "The children went from home-schooling and travelling the world with their father to attending traditional school and living under Katherine's strict Jehovah's Witness beliefs."
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Paris said she had 'love and respect' for all of her relatives who helped raise them and said the Jackson brood all remained close with one another.
She continued: "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.'"
Additional words by Olivia Burke.
Topics: Michael Jackson, Celebrity, Parenting
Anish Vij