Paris Jackson was “hit at another level” by the death of her father, claims her cousin.
The 15-year-old daughter of Michael Jackson is currently recovering in hospital following a suicide attempt earlier this month. Michael died in 2009 of acute Propofol intoxication and his mother Katherine is now the guardian of Paris and her brothers Prince, 16, and 11-year-old Blanket.
Katherine is suing concert promoter AEG Live, claiming its negligence contributed to Michael’s death. He was preparing for his This Is It comeback shows when he passed away.
The children’s cousin T.J. Jackson has been involved in their care and took to the witness stand on Thursday. He became emotional when discussing Paris, who is said to have struggled with the stress of the on-going case.
"It's tough. She was daddy's girl. My uncle was her world,” T.J. said.
“Paris has a heart of gold. I just think the loss of my uncle has hit her at a different level. She's in a tough spot, but we're all loving her and doing everything we can to get her where she should be.”
Michael used to call Paris “the princess of his life”, according to T.J. He explained the King of Pop’s death was terrible for all three children, although Paris in particular struggled to cope.
T.J. is the son of Michael’s brother Tito and is also Paris, Prince and Blanket’s co-guardian. He was close to Michael and turned to him for guidance throughout his life, which is why he wanted to be involved with caring for his kids. He broke down on the stand and spoke of how generous his uncle was, saying he used to hand $100 bills to strangers.
“Our children are supposed to outlive us, so it's been very difficult on our grandmother,” he said, when asked how Katherine has managed since her son died in 2009.
T.J. spoke of Prince’s love of reading, which has been the case since he was a little boy. He also discussed Blanket, who is apparently intent on leading as normal a life as possible.
“Blanket was always wrapped around [Michael's] leg, right behind his leg," he said. "Wherever my uncle was, Blanket was there. My uncle was everything to Blanket.”
T.J.’s comments about Paris come after Prince testified yesterday and recalled hearing her scream as Michael’s physician Dr. Conrad Murray tried to resuscitate him. The physician is currently serving a prison sentence for Michael’s involuntary manslaughter.
“Nothing will ever be the same," the teenager said. "I can't sleep at night. I have a hard time sleeping. For a while after he died, I became emotionally distant from a lot of people."
Michael was beset by child abuse allegations when he was alive, with choreographer Wade Robson recently claiming he was sexually molested by the star.
New court documents relating to the allegations were filed this week, in which Wade claims Michael first assaulted him when he was seven. Much of the documentation is redacted according to TMZ, with RadarOnline claiming it says the incidents continued for seven years.
