Paris Jackson has spoken candidly about her late father in a new interview that explores her extraordinary life.
The only daughter of Michael Jackson was just 11-years-old when he died but says she has many treasured memories of her dad.
“I have lots of memories of my father,” Paris told the UK’s Mail on Sunday.
“He was an incredible father. We all loved him to death.
“He’d try to educate us as much as he could and was always looking out for us. He was very protective.”
Paris lives in Los Angeles with her two brothers, Prince, 16, and Blanket, 11, in the care of their grandmother Katherine, 82.
The 15-year-old says she remembers hiding behind masks as a child and explains why Michael ensured his kids wore them in public.
“He didn’t want anyone to see what we looked like,” she says. “That way, we could have what he didn’t, which was a normal childhood.”
Paris goes on to detail the numerous things her father did so that she and her brothers could grow up out of the spotlight. This included turning hotel bedrooms into home cinemas with a portable projector and a bed sheet when his children were on tour with him. He also gave her dancing lessons.
And despite her fame and wealth, Paris attends a normal school where she is on the cheerleading squad and has played in the girl’s football team.
“I want to have a normal high-school experience,” she says.
The teenager has inherited her father’s love of music but is adamant she doesn’t want to follow in his footsteps; instead she wants to be a heart surgeon.
“I want to help people, that’s it,” she says.
One of her main priorities is to restore her father’s Neverland estate, so it can be used for sick and underprivileged children.
Paris says she was “devastated” when she returned to her family home two years ago to find the Ferris wheel had been removed.
“I cried and cried,” she says. “It’s beautiful there. It still has good energy.”
Paris also plans to pay tribute to her father by having the words of a loving note he wrote her tattooed on her wrist when she is old enough.
The interview comes as the Jackson family prepares to launch a $40 billion wrongful death civil lawsuit against AEG, the promoter of Michael’s ill-fated ‘This Is It’ tour.
Katherine accuses AEG of “putting its desire for massive profits from the tour over the health and safety of Michael Jackson”, legal documents state.
Paris and her elder brother are expected to take the stand once the case comes to court to reveal further details of their father’s private life.
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