Prince Jackson has revealed dad Michael ‘spoke to him like an adult’ and explained the reason for putting ‘masks’ on his children
Prince Jackson has opened up about the story behind Michael covering his kids’ faces in public.
I mean, it’s pretty self-explanatory why a celebrity would cover their child’s face in public, but given some of the ‘Billie Jean’ singer’s more questionable behavior, perhaps it’s just as well Michael Joseph Jackson Jr – also known as Prince – has cleared things up.
So frequently was the youngest of Michael’s children Prince Michael Jackson II seen with a blanket over his face, he ended up with the nickname of – you guessed it – ‘Blanket’.
While the nickname stuck with him for over 10 years, in 2015 he decided to make a change and adopted another nickname, now preferring to be known as ‘Bigi’ or, in full, ‘Bigi Jackson’.
But there’s a specific reason the pop singer would ‘mask’ his children’s faces and grab a blanket or another item to do so, which has been explained in more detail by his first born, Prince – who’s mom is the singer’s ex-wife Deborah Jeanne Rowe.
In an interview with The Los Angeles Times in 2006, Prince explained Michael ‘spoke to [him] like an adult’ and explained the decision to cover their faces to him.
Michael Jackson would sometimes be spotted with one of his children but them wearing something over their head (Olaf Selchow/Getty Images)
“He told us the reason for the masks was he wanted us to have our own life without him,” he said.
When the kids weren’t out with their dad, they were able to be in public and get away with not being recognized. However, the reaction to them when they were with Michael made it clear they weren’t like ‘normal’ families.
“I don’t think I ever thought about if other kids lived like that when I was younger. But once I knew who he was, I realized it wasn’t normal,” Prince added.
Michael’s eldest child then recalled a specific moment when he realized how famous a musician his dad really was.
Prince Jackson said his dad spoke to him about why he covered their faces away from photographers (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
Prince recalled being at Disneyland and going over to ‘the window’ of a room.
He said: “There were all these fans waving and taking pictures of me. I thought it was normal, so I just waved back.”
“It wasn’t until I saw a video of him performing and people were fainting and passing out, when I realized the work he did meant a lot to people.”
Featured Image Credit: Getty/Dave M. Benett/Getty/Stringer