Family Feud Thrusts Once-Secretive Jackson Kids Into Spotlight

Shielded as children, teenagers Prince and Paris Jackson tell all on social media

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Photo: Dave M. Benett/Getty; Jason LaVeris/Filmmagic

Michael Jackson worked tirelessly to protect his children from the media, but as the Jackson family continues to feud publicly about the late singer’s estate, they can’t escape the public eye.

Once shrouded in masks during any public outing, Prince, 15, and Paris, 14, have stepped into the spotlight.

Now in their adolescence, Prince and Paris have created identities all their own, away from the shadow of the Jackson family, on Twitter and Instagram.

“grandma’s here! #thankyougod,” Paris Tweeted early Thursday morning, thrilled that her grandmother, Katherine Jackson, 82, had finally returned to the family home in Calabasas, Calif., after suspicious reports surfaced that she had gone “missing.”

As the famous family struggles over Michael’s estate, with several of the late pop star’s siblings claiming his will was forged and that Katherine was being manipulated by the executors of his estate, Paris has been anything but shy in sharing her opinions.

On Tuesday, the budding actress took to Twitter to express concern over her grandmother’s whereabouts. “9 days and counting so help me god I will make whoever did this pay,” she wrote.

But on Instagram, Paris maintains a more carefree persona, describing herself as “just a rock n roll junkie,” and often posts photos of herself wearing T-shirts of her favorite bands.

Life After Michael’s Death

On July 7, 2009, during Michael Jackson’s memorial service at the Staples Center in L.A., a then 11-year-old Paris bravely addressed the crowd. “Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine … I just wanted to say I love him so much,” she said, weeping into the microphone.

From that point on, the Jackson children were thrust into the public eye, a fate the late singer had hoped to avoid.

During an interview with Oprah Winfrey last June, Paris confessed that she didn’t always understand her father’s infamous overprotective nature, which forced the children to hide their faces in public, often behind masks.

“I was really confused. I didn’t get why I was wearing a mask, but I understand it now, why my dad would want [our faces] to be covered,” she told Winfrey. “Like when we went out without him, we wouldn’t be recognized. We could have a normal childhood.”

Asked if Michael thought his children could ever really have a “normal” childhood, Paris answered, “He had his doubts. He told us that when he was younger, he didn’t really have a childhood. He would always be stuck in a studio singing while other kids were out playing. And he wanted us to have that.”

Family Feud over Michael’s Estate Continues

Police were called to Katherine’s home on Monday to deal with a physical altercation between two unidentified people, amid reports that Janet, Randy and Jermaine Jackson tried to take Michael’s kids Prince, Paris and Blanket from the compound.

On Wednesday, a judge temporarily removed Katherine as the children’s guardian, naming Michael’s nephew TJ as the replacement.

There have also been suggestions that Katherine was being kept away from the kids against her will, though she claimed she was simply on vacation in Arizona.

“There are rumors going around about me that I have been kidnapped,” she told ABC News. “I am here today to let everybody to know that I am good and fine … My children would never do anything to me like that.”

Just a month before her family’s dispute threw her into the limelight, Paris told Winfrey that she was coping as best as she could since her father’s death.

“I think I’m doing all right,” she said. “Me and my brothers, we miss him with all our hearts.”

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