By Daniel Edu
Paris Jackson, the daughter of the iconic entertainer Michael Jackson, has commemorated her father’s 65th posthumous birthday while shedding light on his personal dislike for celebrating birthdays.
On Wednesday, Paris, who has followed a musical path similar to her father’s, posted a video on her Instagram stories to wish her late father a happy birthday.
In the video, she shared that the legendary “Thriller” artist did not appreciate any recognition or celebration of his own birthday during his lifetime. However, she chose to create the video tribute due to the prevalence of social media as the primary way people express affection in modern times.
Paris explained, “Today is my dad’s birthday, and back when he was alive, he used to hate anybody acknowledging his birthday, wishing him a ‘Happy Birthday,’ celebrating it—nothing like that.”
She elaborated that Michael Jackson didn’t even want his own family to know when his birthday was because he wanted to avoid any potential parties or gatherings in his honor.
Paris also disclosed that in previous years, she received death threats from overzealous fans when she didn’t post celebratory content on her father’s posthumous birthday. She expressed frustration over how some people used her social media activity to gauge her love for her father.
During her recent concert in Colorado, Paris acknowledged her father’s significant influence on her career, stating, “It’s also my dad’s birthday, And he would have been 65 years old today, and he put 50 years of blood, sweat, tears, love, and passion into doing what he did so that I can stand up here on stage in front of you and scream into a microphone. So, I owe everything to him.”
Paris further encouraged Michael Jackson’s dedicated fans to honor his memory by engaging in humanitarian efforts aligned with his values, such as climate change activism, environmental causes, and animal rights, which were causes he deeply cared about.
Michael Jackson passed away from cardiac arrest in June 2009, leaving behind his only daughter, Paris, who was 11 years old at the time. He shared Paris with his second wife, Debbie Rowe.