Michael Jackson tried hard to shield his children from the attention that had followed him for most of his life.
But according to Paris Jackson, growing up as the daughter of one of the most famous people on Earth still left lasting effects.
During a deeply personal 2021 episode of Red Table Talk with Willow Smith, then-23-year-old Paris opened up about what years of paparazzi attention had done to her.
Paris said she sometimes experienced auditory hallucinations involving camera clicks as well as severe paranoia, issues she had discussed in therapy.
Even completely unrelated sounds could trigger the same reaction.
She explained that the rustling of something as simple as a trash bag could make her flinch in panic, adding that she believed what she experienced was PTSD.
It is a revealing glimpse into what growing up around extreme celebrity could feel like from the child’s perspective.
Michael famously tried to conceal Prince, Paris and Bigi’s identities when they were young, sometimes having them cover their faces during public appearances. Yet even with those efforts, cameras and public interest remained a constant part of their lives.
Paris Jackson Explains How Fame Triggered Her Trauma
In the interview, Paris was speaking with Willow Smith, another person who understood what it meant to grow up with extremely famous parents. The two had known each other for years and discussed the unusual pressures that came with spending childhood in the public eye.
Paris also said therapy had become part of how she dealt with those experiences.
The revelation gives more context to something Michael himself seemed deeply concerned about: giving his children as much privacy and normality as his fame would allow.
Michael could not stop the world from knowing who their father was.
And Paris’s comments suggest that even after the cameras were gone, the sound of them could remain.
For millions of people, a camera click meant getting a photograph of Michael Jackson’s family. For Paris, years later, that same sound could still feel like danger.