Paris Jackson, 23, revealed her struggles coming out to her family, adding that being gay is ‘very taboo’ in the Jackson family.
Speaking to Willow Smith on Red Table Talk, Paris revealed that she came out as a queer when she was 14.
The 23-year-old also added that she felt that she was ‘not accepted’ by some members of her family —who are Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“I’ve reached a point right now where I have love and respect for my family, their beliefs, their culture, their religion and if I’m to expect them to set that aside just so I can feel accepted, expectations lead to resentments for me,” Paris said.
“I’m still kind of figuring it out,” she added. “My family is very religious and a lot of homosexuality is very taboo, so they don’t like to talk about it, it’s not really accepted.”
Paris was only 11 years old when her dad, Michael Jackson, passed away in 2009.
In a separate interview, Paris has previously spoken openly about the pressures of growing up in one of the world’s most famous families.
And now, Paris has revealed the struggles inflicted by her own relatives too, explaining that she avoids talking about her sexuality to some members of the Jacksons.
Despite the lack of support from some of the Jacksons, Paris said that her two brothers, Prince, 24, and Bigi, 19, were both very supportive of her.
She revealed that while in high school, Prince even joined a club for LGBTQ+ in an attempt to connect with her.
“They’ve always been super-supportive,” Paris told Willow. “Not a lot of people can say they have siblings that support them like that.”
Paris went on to share the trauma that she suffers regularly because of press intrusion into her dad’s life. Adding that she experiences ‘auditory hallucinations’ and ‘severe paranoia’ due to her past encounters with paparazzi.
“I’ll hear a trash bag rustling and flinch in panic,” Paris revealed. “I think it’s standard PTSD.”
Paris also said that despite her late father’s fame, she and her brothers were raised with ‘solid morals,’ and that they need to earn visits to the amusement rides at Michael’s Neverland Ranch.
“It was very clear to us that those rides and the zoo were for underprivileged children,” Paris said. “Children who were sick and couldn’t go to Disneyland.”
“If we were good, and we did our homework and we worked hard throughout the week, maybe we could go at the weekends, but we had to earn it,” Paris said.