Paris Jackson is finally feeling better.
In a one-on-one interview with Willow Smith on the Smith family’s underrated Facebook talk show, Red Table Talk, the 23-year-old daughter of Michael Jackson discussed how the intense invasion by paparazzi into her personal life has caused her PTSD, from “auditory hallucinations” she experiences from the sound of camera clicks to paranoia.
However, thanks to trauma therapy and her love of music, Jackson is finally understanding self-love following a series of suicide attempts. “It’s just a radical acceptance of, ‘When it’s my time, it will be my time,’ and I’ll wait it out till then,” she said. “And during that waiting time, I’ve just found more and more joys in life and more ways to cope and more ways to like, really live instead of just exist.”
It’s a surprisingly candid interview between two young, queer artists and children of world-famous celebrities. The pair talked about forging their own careers while managing the pressure of their parents’ success and the trauma of growing up in the spotlight. They also opened up about their sexualities: Smith previously came out as bisexual in a 2019 episode of the show, and has most recently said in an April episode that she believes polyamory is “an infinite resource.”
Jackson, on the other hand, says that she’s still figuring out how she identifies. According to PinkNews, Jackson came out last year in her Facebook Watch documentary Unfiltered: Paris Jackson & Gabriel Glenn. (Glenn is Jackson’s ex-boyfriend.) At the time, she bucked choosing one label. “I say I’m gay because I guess I am, but I wouldn’t consider myself bisexual because I’ve dated more than just men and women, I’ve dated a man that had a vagina,” she said.
Jackson also mentioned that her famed family doesn’t talk about her sexuality. “My family is very religious… homosexuality is just very taboo so we don’t like to talk about it,” she said, mentioning she was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness. After prodding from Willow, Jackson admitted she’s reached a point of accepting her family’s religious beliefs and has found support from her three “brothers,” Omer Bhatti, Prince, and Prince Michaell (II).
Though Smith and Jackson also commiserate about their fears surrounding their personal privacy — Jackson told Willow that anyone entering her home signs an NDA — the interview was far from somber. Jackson spoke of reconnecting with her mother Debbie Rowe at age 15, sharing the same first name as Paris Hilton (who she calls “P1”), and falling in love with music. She even played a new song, “Freckles,” for Smith and later offered to help perform backup vocals.
Smith seemed delighted, saying “What are you doing after this? Should we just go to the studio?” before the camera followed them to a recording booth.
It’s good to hear that Jackson is feeling better as she returns to the spotlight — and fortunately, it seems to be on her own terms. The actress and singer will be seen next in the upcoming 10th season of American Horror Story. She’s also appearing as Jesus in Bella Thorne’s upcoming indie film, Habit.
Smith has stayed equally busy. Her forthcoming album is expected to be a pop-punk record after she released the single “Transparent Soul” with Blink-182’s Travis Barker in April. The song is a lowkey bop. “But the headbanger’s classic emo punch strikes a unique balance with Willow’s introspective writing style,” them.’s Emma Carey wrote last month.
Here’s hoping Smith and Jackson’s song becomes public one day. We need it.
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