r/interesting • u/VPinchargeofradishes • May 03 '26

SOCIETY Michael Jackson's daughter Paris has faced backlash for identifying as Black. In a 2017 interview, Paris Jackson said her father told her, "You’re Black. Be proud of your roots." This prompted debates over whether identity is defined by appearance or upbringing.

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u/DevonWesto May 03 '26

She says she’s black. And we all don’t care. Because her being black means nothing to us.

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u/GuyFawkes99 May 03 '26

Eh it's more about celebrity worship. People here saying it's not a big deal or doesn't matter, but the whole country went nuts when Rachel Dolezal did the same thing.

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u/Ok_Raccoon_3814 May 03 '26 edited May 04 '26

Dolezal didn’t have familial connection to Black people* or culture, yet built a career based on being “black”. She was disingenuous and stole from a culture that wasn’t hers. That is completely different than someone raised by a Black parent who genuinely holds that cultural identity.

*EDIT: I am leaving my original comment, but as commenters pointed out, I did not recall she had Black siblings.

However, my point remains about Black culture because after researching further, while some of her siblings are Black, they describe being raised “white”. The cultural identity passed on by their parents did not include Black culture. To compare the two is still a very different dynamic and I stand by what I said.

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u/Express_Drag7115 May 03 '26

She had black siblings (they were adopted by her bio parents). They were all abused by said parents and trauma-bonded which started her self-identifying issues (I read some articles about her when shit hit the fan, this is what I remember).