Now that Michael Jackson’s passing has begun to sink in and become part of everyday life, much of the attention is being turned to his kids. However, if we look at how childhood celebrity affected Michael, focusing on his kids is the last thing we should do.
Those kids, of course, are Prince Michael, 12, Paris-Michael Katherine, 11, and Blanket (Prince Michael II), 7. All three made their first true public appearance on Tuesday at the Memorial Service in Los Angeles for their father who tragically died at age 50.
Up until then, people had heard about Michael Jackson’s kids but knew very little about them. Their most memorable times in the spotlight were photos of them walking around with masks covering their faces and when Michael hoisted Blanket, then just a baby, over a balcony.
Now with the loss of their father and deep in the middle of what will probably be an ugly custody battle (between Jackson’s parents and the childrens biological mother, Debbie Rowe) these kids are right where Michael didn’t want them to be: in the spotlight. Granted, it didn’t help that in front of a billion people Paris cried about losing her father. But the news came out, thanks to E! Online, that she might have been forced to do so. Stop it already.
The loss of a parent is a difficult enough thing to deal with. A custody battle on top of that is even worse. But it should be blatantly obvious from the fact that we hadn’t seen much of Prince, Paris and Blanket before Tuesday that Michael didn’t want his children to be in the public eye.
Michael himself was a huge celebrity from the age of 5-50. One can guess that rarely did a day go by in that time when he wasn’t mobbed every time he walked in the street, constantly assaulted by the media and written about across the world. Mega celebrity status forced Michael to grow up very quickly and, later in life, obviously make some questionable and possibly criminal, decisions. But really, Michael just wanted to relive the childhood he never had. The childhood that he was robbed of. The childhood that everyone else has where we learn to function as normal human beings and make rational decisions.
Obviously, right now, with Jackson’s death still fresh in our minds, it’s natural to be curious about his children. But sooner rather than later, once the dust has settled, let’s hope we all can leave them alone and let them grow up. That’s what Michael wanted and if we want to celebrate his legacy, there’s no better way.
