Paris Jackson, the eldest of Michael Jackson’s children, has explained why she identifies as a Black woman, despite many people calling her white.
Born to Debbie Rowe and the King of Pop back in 1998, Paris has followed in her father’s footsteps and become a huge name in the music industry.
While in later life, Michael was known for her lighter complexion, he was African-American and had darker skin in his earlier life.
It was reported that Jackson had Vitiligo, which caused his skin to go lighter as he aged
Back in 2017, Paris revealed that she considers herself Black in an interview with Rolling Stone, saying: “[Michael] would look me in the eyes and he’d point his finger at me and he’d be like, ‘You’re Black. Be proud of your roots.’ And I’d be like, ‘OK, he’s my dad, why would he lie to me?’ So I just believe what he told me. ‘Cause, to my knowledge, he’s never lied to me.”
Paris also explained that many people who don’t know her presume that she’s white, saying she looks like she “if from Finland or somewhere”.
She added that many other mixed-race children look like her, pointing to Prison Break star, Wentworth Miller, who was born to a Black father and a white mother.
Despite the way Paris identifies, she received criticism at the time for her comments with US talk show host, Wendy Williams saying: “I get that she considers herself Black and everything, but I’m just talking about the visual because you know… black is not what you call yourself, it’s what the cops see you when they got steel to your neck on the turnpike.
“It’s what they see. But that’s cute and good for her.”
