A black and white picture of Michael Jackson wearing a leather jacket.

Notable People

Paris Jackson Said She Still Thinks of Michael Jackson as Her ‘Best Friend’

Michael Jackson died when Paris Jackson was a child. She spoke about her relationship with him now.

by Emma McKee

Published on May 27, 2026

2 min read

Paris Jackson spoke about her relationship with Michael Jackson

When Paris was younger, she said she felt like she “owed it to people” to discuss her father. Now, she doesn’t think she needs to do that.

“There’s definitely a certain element where I felt I had to share everything,” she said on the Trying Not to Die podcast. “And that has drastically changed in the last few years, because I don’t really feel like any of us owe anyone anything.”

She said that this has given her a sense of peace.

“I’m now learning I can have my own personal relationship and I’m allowed to be private about it and I’m now like, my relationship is the most beautiful relationship ever,” she said. “I’m in a very beautiful spot with my dad and I love that and it’s no one’s business and I don’t have to share that with anybody. And there’s a lot of freedom in that, which is really cool.”

She said she does not want to be “performative” with her love for her father. Still, she said she had a deep connection with him.

“I’m not going to express my love in a copycat way, copying someone that didn’t know him,” she said. “Because I did. That was my best friend.”

She said he instilled a work ethic in her

As the daughter of one of the most famous people in the world, Paris said she knows that a lot of people think she is a “spoiled brat.” This bothers her because she said her father instilled a strong work ethic in her.

“There was a lot about my upbringing that was silver spoon-esque, but there was so much of it that had to be earned. Like there was very much a focus on developing a work ethic,” she said. “And so I did see something recently where it’s like, ‘You don’t have to work,’ and it’s like no, I do. I really do.”

She said she likes to be as productive as possible.

“I’m like a shark. If I stop moving, I’ll die,” she said. “It makes me happy to move and work and be productive.”

Paris Jackson was not involved with the Michael Jackson biopic

Paris said she is in a good place with her father. Still, she did not want anything to do with the recent biopic Michael. When Colman Domingo said in an interview that she’d been supportive of the film, she publicly refuted him.

“[Colman], don’t be telling people I was ‘helpful’ on the set of a movie I had 0% involvement in lol. That is so weird,” she responded on her Instagram Story. “I read one of the first drafts of the script and gave my notes about what was dishonest [and] didn’t sit right with me and when they didn’t address it I moved on with my life. Not my monkeys, not my circus. God bless and godspeed.”