Abstract: This month Kerry Hennigan looks at the variety of career choices and attitudes in Michael Jackson’s now-adult children, Prince, Paris and Bigi. This article was prompted by Paris Jackson’s recent comments with respect to the forthcoming biopic which purports to tell the life story of her beloved father. Paris’ opinions on officially sanctioned projects like the biopic have sometimes put her at odds with members of her father’s vast fan community. Kerry views Paris’ individuality in the context of the rights of individuals, even the offspring of the rich and famous, to have and express their personal opinions, particularly on subjects “close to home.” But what does that mean for those fans anxiously awaiting the biopic’s release in April 2026?
Column by Kerry Hennigan, editor of the free monthly newsletter A Candle for Michael, administrator of the fan group “Michael Jackson’s Short Film Ghosts” on Facebook, and an MJ blogger on WordPress. Kerry is a life-long student, holds Certificates in the Archaeology of the Ancient World and the Archaeology of Ancient Britain from Cambridge University’s Institute of Continuing Education and is passionate about Viking longships.
REFERENCE AS:
Hennigan, Kerry. “MJ Studies Today CXVII: Diversity of opinion and attitude in Michael Jackson’s family and their relationship to his legacy.” (14-09-2025). The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies Vol 12, No. 1 (2025). https://michaeljacksonstudies.org/mj-studies-today-cxvii/
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Diversity of opinion and attitude in Michael Jackson’s family and their relationship to his legacy.
By Kerry Hennigan
In 2025, sixteen years after the death of Michael Jackson, a researcher doing an internet search for any new developments in his legacy (i.e. “news”), is inclined to discover that such “news” is dominated by stories, factual or otherwise, about the activities of members of Michael’s immediate family, in particular his three children. His daughter Paris, having a career in the public eye as a fashion model and entertainer with a presence on social media, has her life scrutinised and magnified to an excessive degree no matter what she cares to share with her followers. While some of this scrutiny is excessive, as with anything or anyone associated with the King of Pop, it is also inevitable. [1]
Remarkably, as adults, the Jackson trio appear to be reasonably well-adjusted individuals happily pursuing their own careers, whereas other celebrity offspring have been inhibited by their parents’ fame, and/or intimidated by the world’s expectations of them. Their lives might feel barely their own to live, but must be conducted with awareness of the expectations and reactions of absolute strangers. A 2022 feature published by the BBC states, “The kids of well-known or highly successful people may feel as if they’ll always be known as their parents’ child – rather than as themselves.” [2]
While the world into which Michael Jackson’s children were born would have influenced them from an early age, it is never a given that the offspring of very famous, well-known or influential individuals, follow in their parents’ footsteps. Nor should it be. However, with respect to Michael’s children, it has become impossible for his global fan following to ignore the more obvious reflections of his personality manifested in their interests and activities.
If Prince Jackson acts most like philanthropic Michael with his dedication to humanitarian endeavours and his Heal Los Angeles Foundation, then Paris certainly has the entertainment gene and a strong desire to achieve artistic satisfaction on her own merits. Meanwhile, Prince Michael Jackson II (now known as Bigi – formerly Blanket) has realised his father’s ambition to work behind the camera in the film industry, even winning a Grand Jury Prize for Best Drama for his debut short film, Rochelles, at the 2023 Santa Monica Film Festival. [3]
Of course, Michael Jackson’s children are not him, and for the majority of their lives now, they have lived without his love and guidance. However, it is understandable that fans might look to them as guides to what is appropriate or otherwise when it comes to projects undertaken by the Michael Jackson Estate. While Prince appears happily involved with some of the Estate’s projects (like Lionsgate’s forthcoming Michael biopic), his sister petitions the co-executors for transparency of extraneous legal payments, and focuses on her own creative pursuits (music, modelling, acting etc). Bigi mostly remains silent (in public) while pursuing a career behind the film camera.
Their individuality highlights the diversity that exists not only in the Michael Jackson family, but in the human family. Such individuality, when it embraces beliefs and behaviour that exhibit no intent to harm anyone else, is something to celebrate, even if we don’t always agree with the opinions expressed. Whatever we, as fans of their father, think of Prince, Paris and Bigi as individuals, of their career choices, of their expressed opinions on different matters, they owe nothing to us, being entitled to live their own lives independent of their father’s legacy.
Paris’ recent comments [4] on the controlled narrative of Hollywood biopics are certainly worth bearing in mind when we see movies attempting to tell the life story of any historic individual, especially one as complex and multi-talented as Michael Jackson. The same is true of the publicity machine that promotes them. However, while Paris’ opinion on the project is certainly hers to make, it should not lead us, as the film’s potential audience, to make judgements based on anyone else’s involvement (or lack of, in Paris’ case) with the film. Her current feelings about the biopic are based on an early script which pre-dated her brother Prince’s involvement.
Whatever weight Jackson fans attribute to Paris’ opinion, I believe there is a definite desire in the fan community generally to have the film deal fearlessly with the controversies in Michael’s life, and to expose them as fallacies or misrepresentations in a way that will eradicate the toxicity that unfairly clouds his legacy. For that, I think we are more than ready!
Kerry Hennigan
14 September 2025
Sources:
[1] Hennigan, Kerry. (2017) Article: “How Does It Feel?” – Media abuse of Michael Jackson conferred on a Second Generation, and history repeats at the Melbourne Cup 2017. Published electronically at https://kerryhennigan.wordpress.com/2017/11/09/how-does-it-feel-media-abuse-of-michael-jackson-conferred-on-a-second-generation-and-history-repeats-at-the-melbourne-cup-2017/
[2] BBC website: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220915-the-kids-who-live-in-their-parents-shadows
[3] 2293 Productions entry on Bigi Jackson’s short film Rochelles. https://2293productions.com/rochelles/
[4] Paris Jackson’s video sourced from Facebook. Retrieved Sep 2025 https://www.facebook.com/100000022556916/videos/pcb.2316747575512158/1181937730617861
Illustration: “memories” photo montage compiled by Kerry Hennigan using PhotoScape X Pro software. No infringement of original photographic copyright is intended in this not for profit, educational exercise.