The legendary pop icon Michael Jackson tragically passed away on June 25, 2009, at 50. Recently, fans from all corners of the world came together to commemorate what would have been his 65th posthumous birthday.
However, amidst the heartfelt celebrations, a noteworthy incident unfolded as Paris Jackson, the daughter of the late singer, found herself at the center of public attention and scrutiny. Some ardent fans of the King of Pop expressed disappointment and criticized the 25-year-old for not posting a birthday message in remembrance of her father.
Paris Jackson Gets Death Threats
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Following the online harassment, Paris took to social media to defend herself. In an Instagram video, the 25-year-old revealed that her late dad was not a fan of people celebrating his birthday while he was alive. “Today’s my dad’s birthday, and back when he was alive, he used to hate anybody acknowledging his birthday, wishing him a happy birthday, celebrating it, nothing like that,” Paris said. “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.”
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Paris further stated that contrary to the opinions touted by her critics, not posting her dad’s birthday on social media was not an indication of her love for him. “That being said, 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 you don’t love them, you don’t care about them,” she detailed. “There are times when I don’t post anything for my dad’s birthday and people lose their f–king minds — 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.”
Paris Jackson shares a video of herself paying tribute to her father, Michael Jackson
Paris also shared a video of her performance as the opening act for Incubus during their concert in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she paid tribute to her father while onstage. “It’s also my dad’s birthday,” the 25-year-old revealed. “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 on stage in front of you and scream into a microphone, so I owe everything to him.”
Paris concluded the post with valuable advice directed at the “MJ superfans”. The “Let Down” singer disclosed that to honor her father’s legacy, they should support causes of interest to the singer during his lifetime. “There’s always ways to get involved with raising awareness for climate change, doing stuff for the environment, animal rights activism,” Paris added. “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.”