Michael Jackson’s Son Prince Reveals What It Was Like Growing Up in a Famous Family, Getting ‘Followed Around’
Prince Jackson spoke candidly about his late father, Michael Jackson, and what it was like growing up as a child in the spotlight.
On Tuesday (March 16), Fox Soul's The Mix podcast aired an interview with Prince in promotion of the Heal L.A. Foundation, which Prince co-founded. During his appearance, he revealed what his childhood was like with one of the world's most famous artists as a father.
Prince didn't exactly have an "aha moment" when he discovered that his family was super famous. Instead, he described his realization setting in through fleeting moments, or "little seeds."
"As I was growing up and getting older, I saw that people would follow us around. People would just want to reach out and touch my dad," the 24-year-old recalled.
Watching his father perform is what really made him realize how popular Michael was.
"It was really when I was maybe around ten or eleven in the Middle East when I was watching a video of my father performing," he explained. "I don't remember the name of the tour, I believe it may have been the History Tour, but he was performing outside and you see this sea of people and there [were] people fainting in the audience. And I asked my dad, 'Why are they fainting? I see you every day and I don't faint.'"
Prince also revealed the greatest lesson that his late father ever taught him. Over the years, Michael gave him "nuggets" of advice that have been "applicable at all times" during his life—but there is one piece of advice has truly helped him grow into the person that he is today.
"The one that has been my guiding principle is that you never stop learning," he shared. "I graduated a few years ago now and that doesn't mean that I haven't stopped learning. And my father would also say something along the lines of 'The minute that you stop learning, is the minute that you're going to start dying.'"
The Mix airs on Tuesdays at 7 PM PT on Fox Soul and is hosted by Zonnique, Romeo Miller, Anton Peeples, Jamie DuBose and Jazz Anderson.
Michael Jackson passed away at the age of 50 on June 25, 2009. He suffered cardiac arrest due to a fatal combination of drugs given to him by his doctor, and passed away at home in Los Angeles.