From a self-assured preteen publicly living through tragedy to a budding music mogul, Prince Jackson is honoring his famous father's legacy and building his own unique reputation.
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00:00From a self-assured preteen publicly living through tragedy to a budding music mogul,
00:05Prince Jackson is honoring his famous father's legacy and building his own unique reputation.
00:10On February 13, 1997, Michael Jackson and his then-wife, Debbie Rowe, welcomed their
00:15son Prince into the world.
00:17Michael may have been one of the most famous people alive, but he made a conscious decision
00:20to keep his son out of the limelight.
00:22As he put it in a statement at the time,
00:24"'I grew up in a fishbowl and will not allow that to happen to my child.
00:28Always respect our wishes and give my son his privacy.'"
00:30Prince has described Michael as a down-to-earth father who taught him valuable lessons that
00:34money can't buy.
00:35Still, being the son of the King of Pop also meant living a privileged and unique life.
00:40As he shared on an episode of the Find Your Grind podcast,
00:42"'I was born out here in Los Angeles, and then around when I was like six or seven,
00:46I think, I left the country with my father.'"
00:48"'I lived in Bahrain, Dubai, and Oman for a while.'"
00:51Prince looks back on this time in his life with fondness, for a number of reasons.
00:55"'It opened up my eyes, not only to see how the other side lives, but to be understanding
00:59and accepting of many other cultures.'"
01:02When Michael Jackson died in 2009, 12-year-old Prince and his two siblings were pushed even
01:06further into the spotlight.
01:08In January 2010, Prince and his sister Paris accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award at the
01:12Grammys on their father's behalf, while their younger brother BG watched from backstage.
01:17The siblings took turns at the microphone to thank the Recording Academy and pay tribute
01:20to their dad's legacy, with Prince declaring,
01:23Through all his songs, his message was simple, love.
01:26We will continue to spread his message and help the world."
01:28The children had to get used to a new level of public life.
01:31Prince opened up about this period on the Find Your Grind podcast, as he revealed,
01:35"'Obviously, there was an adjustment period, but I was in control of my own identity at
01:39that point, and I definitely became more aware that people were following me, paparazzi are
01:43stalking me, and all types of stuff like this.
01:46So I wouldn't say it was difficult, but there was an adjustment period.'"
01:50After his father's death, Prince went from being homeschooled to attending a public high
01:54school.
01:55He also began to explore various passions, and in 2013, Entertainment Tonight announced
01:59that he would be joining their team as a guest on-air correspondent.
02:02He landed the job with the help of his aunt Latoya.
02:04Prince's first gig as a reporter was made official the weekend before the movie Oz the
02:08Great and Powerful came out.
02:09He got to interview director Sam Raimi, as well as stars James Franco and Zach Braff.
02:14It was clear at this moment that Prince's showbiz career was just getting started.
02:18"'You're 16 years old, but you seem so much wiser and older than your years.'"
02:23"'That's what most of my people said.
02:24I was all, thanks to my dad, he raised me right.'"
02:25Though Prince's stint at E!T. lasted just a week, he wasn't done with his time in front
02:29of the camera.
02:302013 was a busy year for Prince Jackson.
02:33In addition to his gig at Entertainment Tonight, he also made his acting debut on the series
02:37finale of The CW's 90210.
02:40He played Cooper, a teenager who suffers an injury at a concert.
02:43The episode's director, Harry Sinclair, sang Prince's praises when he told Entertainment
02:48He's very young, but he was able to be totally relaxed and do his performance.
02:52It was very unusual, and he seemed totally at ease.
02:55Despite that calmness, Prince wasn't exactly excited to check out his own scene.
02:58As he told E!T.,
02:59"'I'm probably my own worst critic.
03:01I don't watch myself.'"
03:02After 90210, Prince opted not to go all-in on an acting career, as he instead pivoted
03:07to working behind the camera.
03:09Prince began to explore the world of content creation, launching a YouTube channel in 2015.
03:14His first video featured clips of him and his family riding around on ATVs at Jawbone
03:18Canyon in the Mojave Desert.
03:20By 2017, Prince began uploading clips focused on his love for motorcycles.
03:24I've always wanted a bike, ever since I was little."
03:30That same year, Prince's passion got him into a bit of trouble, as he ended up in a motorcycle
03:34accident.
03:35After colliding with a truck on his way to school, he was rushed to the hospital.
03:38Fortunately, he didn't sustain any serious injuries.
03:41What's more, his love for riding didn't fade either after the incident, as he continued
03:45to upload motorcycle videos through 2023.
03:48His channel also featured rides throughout California, reviews of his latest purchases,
03:52and general life updates.
03:54By 2017, Prince Jackson was all grown up.
03:57After graduating from high school in 2015, he headed to Loyola Marymount University,
04:01which is where he began dating his girlfriend, Molly Sherman.
04:04While Prince has kept this side of his life relatively private, he has offered up some
04:08details over the years.
04:09At a charity event in 2018, he told People magazine,
04:12"...I think in everything, there's an important balance.
04:15I think that I'm a certain way, and she's very, I don't want to say opposite, but complimentary
04:19in a way that we balance each other out.
04:21I'm more aggressive, she's a little softer."
04:23In 2022, Prince took to Instagram to celebrate their anniversary.
04:28Alongside a string of cute couple photos, he wrote in the caption,
04:30"...five years together.
04:31Lots of trips, miles, smiles, meals, desserts, and all kinds of adventures in between."
04:38It's no secret that Michael Jackson had a staggering net worth when he died.
04:41His kids all inherited a significant portion of that fortune, and Prince reportedly used
04:45some of his for his college education at LMU, where he pursued a degree in business administration.
04:50"...The word is business."
04:53In May 2019, Prince took to Instagram to announce that he was officially a college graduate
04:57with cum laude honors.
04:59Alongside pictures of himself with multiple members of his extended family, he wrote a
05:03lengthy caption logging his journey as a college student and crediting those close to him as
05:07huge inspirations as he earned his degree.
05:09As he put it,
05:10"...Honestly, I can't tell you if all of it was worth it yet, but I am proud of my degree
05:14as I believe it is a testament to my dedication and discipline.
05:17I'm thankful for LMU's education of a whole person and the implementation of Jesuit values
05:22because I believe they inspire graduates like me to continue to change the world for the
05:26better."
05:27It's no stretch to say that Prince Jackson is a passionate and opinionated film buff
05:31that was abundantly clear in June 2018 when he uploaded a video of himself ranting about
05:36the Star Wars franchise, which would pretty much set the stage for his next chapter on
05:40YouTube.
05:41On May 15, 2019, he announced on Instagram that he was planning on launching a movie
05:45review channel called FilmFamily, along with his cousin Taj and brother BG.
05:49As he wrote,
05:50"...We are very excited to announce that we are starting a movie review channel.
05:53Right now, you can go see our first ever video on my YouTube channel.
05:56We know that this is a very rough first video, but we want to take you on the journey with
06:00us as we improve and develop the show."
06:02The Jackson critic crew's first episode was a dive into the Marvel Cinematic Universe,
06:06focusing on 2019's Avengers Endgame.
06:09The channel would eventually feature reviews of other notable films like Marriage Story
06:12and The Irishman.
06:14Alas, it appears that they've wrapped up this chapter of their lives, as their most recent
06:17video was uploaded in March 2020.
06:20On a 2017 episode of the British chat show This Morning, Prince admitted that he doesn't
06:25exactly see himself ever following in his father's footsteps.
06:28But that doesn't mean Prince plans on avoiding the music world entirely.
06:31In 2016, he created King Sun Productions, a collective that produces music videos.
06:36When he sat down with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America to chat about his latest endeavors,
06:40he explained the name of his production company by revealing,
06:43"...I was born as Prince, and that was the name my dad had given to me.
06:46But my dad earned the epithet King of Pop, and that's through hard work and years of
06:50training and everything that he worked so hard to get.
06:53So it's a form of motivation because my name is Prince.
06:56But for all intents and purposes, I am the King Sun, and working to get my own epithet."
07:00In 2017, Prince stayed true to his word and continued to work hard for that title, as
07:03his resume now includes producing videos for artists like Omar Bhatti, Nano, and Sko.
07:08And in 2020, he even collaborated with his sister Paris and her Soundflowers partner
07:12Gabriel Glenn for the video of their song Your Look, Glorious.
07:16As if he didn't already have enough on his plate with school and various creative projects,
07:20Prince launched a non-profit when he was still a teenager.
07:23His father taught him at a young age about the importance of helping others, so it was
07:27a no-brainer that he would eventually start his own foundation dedicated to those in need.
07:31And so, in 2016, Prince and Jon Muto founded Heal Los Angeles, an extension of his father's
07:36foundation Heal the World.
07:38As Prince explained on Good Morning America,
07:39"[Heal LA is a student organization that Jon Muto and I had started earlier in my freshman
07:44year.
07:45We primarily focus on child abuse, homelessness, and hunger in the Los Angeles area."
07:49People don't understand how the little things can add up and really make a big difference
07:54in someone's life."
07:55In addition to providing assistance to local children, Heal Los Angeles also hosts an annual
07:59fundraiser called Thriller Night, a Halloween party held at a Jackson family property.
08:03In 2022, the event doubled as a celebration of the 40th anniversary of Michael Jackson's
08:08biggest album.
08:09As Prince explained to People magazine,
08:11"...I wasn't born when Thriller came out.
08:13I remember the 25th anniversary.
08:15So for me to be here on this platform, able to celebrate my father and his achievements,
08:19there's nothing like it.
08:20There's really nothing like it."
08:22It was only a matter of time before Michael Jackson received the biopic treatment, and
08:26indeed, in 2022, it was announced that Graham King would be making a film based on the King
08:31of Pop's life, and Prince partnered with the Oscar-winning producer to bring his father's
08:34story to the big screen.
08:36During a 2023 appearance on Hot Boxin' with Mike Tyson, Prince told the story of how King
08:40reached out to him for permission.
08:41"...After I read the first draft of the script, I called him because I was crying afterwards,
08:45and I told him that he had the most authentic picture of my father."
08:50After the movie was announced, it was then revealed that Prince's cousin, Jafar Jackson,
08:54would be playing the lead role, and in February 2024, Prince took to Instagram to offer a
08:59first glimpse of Jafar in the movie, which is simply titled Michael.
09:02As he wrote in the caption,
09:03"...watching you perform and work your butt off is the closest I'll ever come to watching
09:07my dad in concert, and it's been a dream come true.
09:10Proud of you, cuz."