Paris Jackson, 27, fires back after sparking outrage for performance on dad Michael Jackson’s birthday: ‘You don’t pick!’
Paris Jackson has responded to criticism about her scheduled performance on June 25, the 16th anniversary of her father Michael Jackson’s death.
The 27-year-old musician addressed the backlash on Instagram Stories Friday after fans expressed anger about her Nashville concert date.
Jackson, who is supporting Incubus on their Morning View + The Hits tour alongside Manchester Orchestra, explained she has no control over the scheduling.
“When you’re first of three, and you’re not headlining these shows, you don’t pick what date you perform or what time you go on stage to perform, or what city you perform in,” she said.
Jackson took to Instagram Stories to address people who were “mad again” about the tour date. She described June 25 as “a very negative anniversary for me in my life and my family.”
The singer emphasised that her position as an opening act limits her influence over tour logistics.
“This feels like [Incubus is] doing me a favour by bringing me out on tour,” she explained in her video.
When asked rhetorically whether she should tell the headliners she couldn’t perform on that date, Jackson concluded her message with a direct response to her critics: “F*** you.”
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Jackson detailed the limited accommodations she receives as a supporting act. “First of three also doesn’t get a tour bus. You get maybe a sprinter van, which I’ve done before when I’ve got a band with me,” she explained.
For this tour, Jackson revealed she won’t have her usual band. “It’s just me and my acoustic guitar and my sound guy, who happens to be my fiancé,” she said, referring to musician Justin Long.
The couple will travel in what Jackson described as a “soccer mum van” throughout the tour. She announced her engagement to Long in December 2024.
The singer also reposted a comment from a fan account defending her, which read: “Note to admins: It is unacceptable to judge someone else’s pain and grief based on information from the internet.
“Judging Paris’ respect for her father from an outside perspective is unfair. June 25 may intensify our pain as fans, but she lives with the loss of her father daily.” In response, Paris wrote: “Thx fam”.
Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, after suffering a heart attack caused by a drug overdose.
His doctor, Conrad Murray, was later jailed for involuntary manslaughter for administering an overdose of propofol.
The pop superstar left three children: Paris, her brother Michael “Prince” Jackson, 27, and Prince “Bigi” Jackson, 22. Paris and Prince were born to Jackson and his second wife, Debbie Rowe, while Bigi was welcomed via surrogate.
Paris has previously spoken about her father’s lasting influence on her work.
“I think he’ll always influence everything I do in some way, whether it’s subconscious or intentional,” she told the Evening Standard in 2021.