Paris Jackson is on the cover of Rolling Stone. Since she turned 18 last April, she moved out of her grandmother’s house, brought her tattoo count to over 50 (some being slipped in when she was still underage) and started working on her multi-hyphenated careers. I cut Paris a lot of slack because I cannot imagine what her life was like, although she speaks quite glowingly of it in this interview. I just think having been in almost complete seclusion and then thrust into the spotlight because of your famous father’s death must have been a tough transition. Up to this point, I thought she’d handled it but it turns out, she struggled quite a bit. The interview is fascinating. In one moment, she sounds like a typical teen but then she backs up what she said with well-worded and introspective thoughts.

There are many quotes to pull so it was hard to choose. You can read the whole thing here. Paris talks about a sexual assault she suffered at 14, several suicide attempts, self-harming and seeking treatment. She believes many things absolutely, like that she does not, in any way, question her parentage. She and her brothers also believe 100% that their father was completely innocent of all charges made against him. And Paris believes her father was murdered, just as he predicted he would be.

Paris has a lingering distaste for AEG Live, the promoters behind the planned This Is It tour – her family lost a wrongful-death suit against them, with the jury accepting AEG’s argument that Michael was responsible for his own death. “AEG Live does not treat their performers right,” she alleges. “They drain them dry and work them to death.” (A rep for AEG declined comment.) She describes seeing Justin Bieber on a recent tour and being “scared” for him. “He was tired, going through the motions. I looked at my ticket, saw AEG Live, and I thought back to how my dad was exhausted all the time but couldn’t sleep.” 

Paris blames Dr. Conrad Murray – who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in her father’s death – for the dependency on the anesthetic drug propofol that led to it. She calls him “the ‘doctor,'” with satirical air quotes. But she has darker suspicions about her father’s death. “He would drop hints about people being out to get him,” she says. “And at some point he was like, ‘They’re gonna kill me one day.'”

Paris is convinced that her dad was, somehow, murdered. “Absolutely,” she says. “Because it’s obvious. All arrows point to that. It sounds like a total conspiracy theory and it sounds like bullsh-it, but all real fans and everybody in the family knows it. It was a setup. It was bullsh-t.” 

But who would have wanted Michael Jackson dead? Paris pauses for several seconds, maybe considering a specific answer, but just says, “A lot of people.” Paris wants revenge, or at least justice. “Of course,” she says, eyes glowing. “I definitely do, but it’s a chess game. And I am trying to play the chess game the right way. And that’s all I can say about that right now.”

[From Rolling Stone]

The article mentions that Lisa Marie Presley also said on Oprah that Michael believed there were people out to get him. I can’t help but read some of his paranoia/conspiracy theory in her last answer. Paris said a few times that Michael spoke candidly to his children, “He did not bullsh-t us. You try to give kids the best childhood possible. But you also have to prepare them for the sh-tty world.” While I agree with that, the strength with which you press your point about a sh-tty world could skew a child’s perception.

I worry about the Jackson kids because I don’t know who is looking out for them. After reading this article, in which her older brother Prince is also quoted, I worry a little less about them. They seemed to be thinking for themselves and not just regurgitating something some handler told them. For instance, it sounds like Prince is not as convinced that Michael is his biological father, although, as he said, it doesn’t change anything if he wasn’t. Or when Paris talked about her fledgling modeling career. Citing self-esteem issues throughout her life, Paris said, “there’s a moment when I’m modeling where I forget about my self-esteem issues and focus on what the photographer’s telling me – and I feel pretty. And in that sense, it’s selfish.” At least she acknowledges that her modeling is selfish, which is more aware than most of the celebrity spawn models.

Photo credit: David LaChapelle/Rolling Stone and WENN and Fame/Flynet Photos