Paris Jackson says in a video she recently posted to Instagram that she was harassed by her late father Michael Jackson‘s fans and even got death threats for not publicly acknowledging his birthday.
“Today’s my dad’s birthday, and back when he was alive, he used to hate anybody acknowledging his birthday,” Jackson said in the video, posted late Tuesday night (August 29). “Wishing him a happy birthday, celebrating it; nothing like that. He actually didn’t want us to even know when his birthday was.”
“There have been times where I don’t post anything for my dad’s birthday, and people lose their minds,” she added. “They tell me to kill myself. They’re basically measuring my love for my own father based off of what I post on Instagram.”
Jackson countered the toxic, social media-obsessed mindset of the fans by sharing a clip of her thanking her father while performing onstage.
“It’s my dad’s birthday,” she says in a clip included in the video that was filmed during her opening set for Incubus on Tuesday at the Amphitheater at Las Colonias Park in Colorado. “He put 50 years of blood, sweat, and tears, and love and passion into doing what he did, so that I can stand up here onstage in front of you and scream into a microphone. I owe everything to him.”
She also had a word of advice for those “MJ superfans” who want to honor Michael’s legacy in a way he would’ve appreciated.
“There’s always ways to get involved with raising awareness for climate change, doing stuff for the environment, animal rights activism,” she said. “These were things he loved and was very, very interested in. I can’t speak for him. but I’m sure he would’ve loved that.”
(Photo: Janell Shirtcliff)
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