Michael Joseph “Prince” Jackson, son of the crowned King of Pop, has big shoes to fill.
But following in the moonwalking footsteps (or would that be footslides?) is not something 19-year-old Prince will be doing anytime soon, preferring a quieter life to his father’s, which was relentlessly played out in the press.
In a rare interview with the LA Times, Michael Jackson’s eldest son Prince, who Jackson notoriously attempted to shield from the public eye, answers a few burning questions.
Prince – as you’d expect – was asked about his father’s controversial parenting techniques, and the infamous fantastical masks he asked his children to wear to protect their identity from the press.
Prince said:
My dad spoke to me like an adult.
He told us the reason for the masks was he wanted us to have our own life without him.
Prince added that he and his siblings were able to go out and live a normal life when they were unaccompanied by their father – free from the press harassment that plagued the King of Pop.
Although many commentators (red: busy bodies) expressed concerns for Michael Jackson’s children, Prince is happily accepting of his lifestyle.
He joked:
You could say my whole life has been unconventional. I really love that though, and it’s all I’ve ever known.
I don’t think I ever thought about if other kids lived like that when I was younger.
But once I knew who he was, I realised it wasn’t normal.
Prince told a story about a trip to Disneyland, which throws into context what he must have seen of his father as a young boy.
Prince recalled:
I remember being in Disneyland and I went to the window and there were all these fans waving and taking pictures of me. I thought it was normal, so I just waved back. It wasn’t until I saw a video of him performing and people were fainting and passing out, when I realised the work he did meant a lot to people.
Prince is currently pursuing a career in music, behind the scenes and away from his father’s eternal limelight.
He said:
Music is a big part of my life. It shaped who I am because of my family, but I’ve always wanted to go into production. My dad would ask me what I wanted to do and my answer was always producing and directing.
With a new production company himself, music clearly runs in the family’s genes. But we already knew that.
I look forward to seeing where this young man’s burgeoning musical career will go.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.