Prince Jackson is Michael Jackson’s eldest son. He was 12 when his father died in 2009. And in an interview around his 21st birthday, he said something about growing up in that house that nobody expects.
The children did not know who their father was.
Asked what he remembered of watching his dad’s music videos, Prince’s answer was flat: “He didn’t like us watching his work.” And then: “We didn’t know who he was as the King of Pop until we were significantly older.”
Michael Jackson’s Son Prince Admits He Can’t Dance Like Dad, But Carries On His Charity Work | TODAY
So how did they find out? By accident, while watching concert footage.
Prince’s description of that moment is the funniest and strangest thing in the whole interview. They saw the crowd. “Girls were passing out. And dudes were passing out.” As a child, he reacted with pure confusion. “It was crazy. Why are they doing this? I see him every day, you know?”
Think about that. Everybody on earth knew exactly who Michael Jackson was. His own children had to work it out from a video.
Update On My Non-Profit, The Heal Los Angeles Foundation
What he does now is where the story goes. Prince is not a performer, and he says so happily — he does not have his father’s dancing. Instead, he took the other half. He founded a charity called Heal LA, which works with young people who have aged out of the foster care system — kids who turn 18 and suddenly have no support at all.
Asked where that came from, he did not hesitate. “I think it’s the way my dad raised me and my siblings. It’s bred into us to give back to the community.” And on why he does it publicly: “My dad always taught me to lead by example.”
He also spoke about his siblings with unusual warmth. Of Paris: “I don’t see myself as like her older brother. We’re equal partners when it comes down to it.” Of the youngest, Bigi, whose habit of building elaborate mazes around the house he describes with obvious affection: “mature for his age.”
Asked what his father would think of the three of them doing charity work together, the answer was simple. “I think he would be proud.”