As many of us remember, the late Michael Jackson went to great (sometimes unbelievable) lengths to keep his children, Paris and Prince Jackson, out of the limelight. Paris, now fourteen, has landed a lead role in the forthcoming fantasy movie Lundon’s Bridge and the Three Keys. While this is probably exciting news for a young girl with dreams of acting, her Aunt Janet Jackson has a very different take, and feels that her deceased brother would not be pleased to see his daughter entering showbiz at such a young age. Details inside.
The HuffPost has the story:
Janet Jackson is reportedly “furious” that her niece, Paris, daughter of her late brother Michael Jackson, has landed a role in the upcoming film, “Lundon’s Bridge and the Three Keys.”
Us Weekly is reporting that Jackson “feels it goes against Michael’s wishes to keep his kids out of the the limelight until age 18,” according to a source who spoke with the magazine.
Paris, 14, landed the role back in December, and aunt Janet has previously expressed concern over her niece entering the spotlight so soon.
“We’ve spoken about the fact that you’re only a child once,” Janet told Preventionmagazine in May. “I think there’s a time for everything, and now is not the time [to act in films]. I told her I thought she should enjoy being a kid, possibly go to college—or not—but wait till she turns 18. She’s a very tough, smart girl. But it’s a cutthroat industry. I wouldn’t want my child to do it.”
During the manslaughter trial of Conrad Murray in October 2011, personal tape recordings of Michael Jackson were released which revealed Michael’s unshakable pain over not having a childhood.
“My performances will be up there helping my children and always be my dream,” Jackson said in the tapes, as previously reported by ABC News. “I loved them. I love them because I didn’t have a childhood. I had no childhood. I feel their pain. I feel their hurt. I can deal with it.”
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Still, Paris has always dreamed of emulating her father.
“When I was really little, my dad was in the movie ‘Moonwalker’ and I knew he could sing really well, but I didn’t know he could act,” Paris Jackson told Elen DeGeneres in an interview last December. “I saw that and I said, ‘Wow, I want to be just like him.’”
Read more here.
I see where Auntie Janet‘s coming from on this one. However, Paris is her own person and it’s hard to keep a child from doing what they want to do– especially if you’re not legally responsible for them. I don’t follow the Jackson family closely so I don’t know all of the details but it looks like Michael Jackson‘s mother Katherine Jackson is raising Paris, and she seems to think that her granddaughter is ready for the movies… whatever that means. The good news, I suppose, is that Lundon’s Bridge and the Three Keys is very much a children’s movie. The fantasy story about a dolphin that turns human, is based on a YA series by Dennis H. Christen.
Still, one wonders if it is too soon for young Paris, and if there’s some danger in her wanting to follow in her father’s footsteps. Do you think the family should have pulled together and made Paris wait? Or is there little difference between a 14-year old actor and an 18-year old actor?
Paris has also been in the news for some twitter beef between herself and her uncle Randy Jackson.
I don’t think Katherine Jackson is the best person to be guiding the future of these children. Look at what she allowed her own children to be put through and think if perhaps she should have someone else governing the affairs of Michael’s children. I agree with Janet. No one knows the business better than her so I don’t blame her for being upset or saddened that they didn’t respect his wishes. There was a reason he felt that way.
monica, I hear you. I don’t how somebody determines when and why their child is ready for show biz. Personally, I’d be scared to let that happen but I’m sure it can be done with great care. Hopefully, someone in the Jackson family will handle Paris’s budding stardom with great care.
Thanks for commenting monica.
I would just be that parent who put their foot down. I know the things that caused me distress as a child and I personally try to keep my daughter out of those situations. I think that is Janet’s intention and not to hold Paris back in anyway.
However, Paris is her own person and it’s hard to keep a child from doing what they want to do– especially if you’re not legally responsible for them……….I agree with the ‘not legally responsible’ part regarding Janet-but as a Mom of 14yr old lemme say this..it may be hard to say NO and stick to it,but as a parent that is your job.When I see trainwrecks like LILO I wish more parents would take their role seriously instead of trying to be their kids friend.Say what you will about MJ-I think when it came to his kids he was always a DAD first.
nat, great points! “No” is a word many American parents have been taught to avoid, but it serves its purpose, lol. Here’s hoping someone says ‘no’ at all the appropriate points in Paris’s life.
Completely agree Nat! You can’t always be your child’s friend and there is a way to keep them from doing these things. If I was her guardian I would be keeping agents and anyone else associated with the business away from these children.
I think that if Katherine really wanted Paris to wait, Paris would be waiting. She’s 14, and she has to have permission to do things like movies, right?
I think Paris is just trying to come into her own. She probably wants to try and make a name for herself, other than just being “Michael Jackson’s daughter.” I know that the kids said that Michael worked with them on movie making. Prince told Oprah that he would bring someone from UCLA out to work with them, and Paris said she and Michael would do improv together.
Michael even told Barbara Walters way back when Prince was a baby that if his kids wanted to go into show business, he’d lay it all out for them, what to expect, etc. He said he’d tell them to go out and do it better than he did it.
I don’t think he was opposed to them being in the business, he just wanted them to grow up with as normal a childhood as possible and then make the decision for themselves once they’d had the chance to experience the kind of childhood he couldn’t.
I believe that 14 is way too young. There are so many past instances in show business which are perfect examples of why Paris should not be allowed to get into the business. For instance Drew Barrymore doing drugs by 15, Lindsay Lohan really doesn’t need anything said but her name. Britney Spears look at the mess that became. Macaulay Culkin.. Brandy the list is endless and so are the repercussions.
With that being said… there are also multiple examples of young people who did not get involved in drugs and have since flourished… Hilary Duff for one. Dakota Fanning another. I think this child lived a pretty deprived life in hiding and it’s time she’s allowed to live a little and make her own mistakes.
I thought that rumor had finally been put to rest. The kids had a very normal, very happy childhood. They’ve spoken about it many times. They were only covered in public so that they would not photographed by the paparazzi. Or at least their faces weren’t.
Paris spoke about how she didn’t understand the masks at the time, but as she got older, she realized he was just trying to protect them. They didn’t wear the masks all the time. They were spotted many times WITH and WITHOUT Michael and not wearing the masks.
Michael tried to give them as normal a life as possible, trying to just let them be kids, something he didn’t get to experience. He was was forced into show business at a very young age…much younger than even Blanket is.
Vicky I don’t know much about Hilary Duff at all. Dakota Fanning on the other hand is so far a good example of a child which hasn’t been swallowed up by Hollywood. She comes from from what I know to be a stable two parent family. The common thread with Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and Drew Barrymore and Michael Jackson himself is that they all had rocky childhoods. Their childhoods were perpetuated by stage parents pushing their children in order to I’m assuming become famous by association. The Jackson family as we know are anything but stable and grounded. How does that bode for her future?
Not saying Blanket’s being forced into show business…just that Michael was older than Blanket is now when he was put to work.
I think it is a HORRIBLE idea for her to do a lead role in her first job. That is setting her up for failure and ridicule. I think if they really cared about getting her into a craft, and not just profiting off another Jackson, her guardians would chose smaller, supporting roles for her to do and get her sea legs.
you know what i dont get..is Paris herself has to know her dad wouldnt have wanted her in the business yet. so why not respect that & wait a few more years?
also the adults in her life should know better. if anything put her in some acting classes – because lord knows, if she fails, the world is going to rip her apart. and thats the last thing she needs
agree, Nicole.
It’s not like she is signing a life-time contract with the cinematography.
This is a different story than Michael’s childhood.
Michael Jackson was a part of the Jackson’s 5, the band couldnt simply go ahead and become Jackson’s 4. He was partially responsible for the success of the whole team and had obligations to perform and travel, whereas Paris is a single act.
She can try out the movie industry, she how much she likes it, see how the feedback from the audience will be and see if this is what she really wants to do. Plus she can always pass on any movie proposal and take a break…
I just feel like Janet Jackson seems a bit… jealous? Ya. Paris is rich, beautiful, motivated, ambitious and(perhaps) even talented. Let her be.
The choice is between Paris and her family, but I want to know what Katherine was thinking as she allowed Michael’s daughter onto a film set. It would seem to me someone so fiercely and lovingly protected by her father from show business is a bit young to be coping with the pressures and challenges in being a celebrity. And let’s face it: her last name is Jackson, she’s the most visible of his three kids, and she is /Michael’s daughter./ Every celeb watcher and paparazzo from here to Beijing is going to be interested.
I hope Paris has a lot of support and a cool head. I’m sure she’s got talent, in no small part due to the experience passed on by her famous relatives, but 14 is the time when a girl is learning her identity, growing up, making mistakes, and discovering the world. It shouldn’t be in front of the camera.
Well, Janet should know how terrible it is to be a child star. I know that Michael probably wouldn’t want his daughter entering the biz at such a young age, but he’s not around now and Paris is (apparently) doing what she pleases.