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‘I am what I am’: Paris Jackson’s plea to her fans

Paris Jackson has said her father raised her believing she "was black".

Paris Jackson has said her father raised her believing she "was black". Photo: Getty

Paris Jackson has begged people to stop editing images of her to make her skin appear lighter or darker, telling her fans she’s proud of her mixed background.

The 19-year-old, who is the daughter of late music icon Michael Jackson and his former wife Debbie Rowe, says people have been altering images to make her look whiter.

“I appreciate everything y’all make for me, I enjoy every single edit I see, but please stop lightening my skin to make me look more white,” the teenager wrote on Twitter.

“And please stop darkening my skin to make me look more mixed. I am what I am. I’m aware of what I look like and I’m finally happy with it.”

Jackson later posted again, this time refer to the instant media storm surrounding her request, joking: “me: ‘can you please….’ media: ‘SHE LASHED OUT AT HER FANS’.”

https://twitter.com/ParisJackson/status/971515191971074048

Jackson’s racial background has been a hot topic. Last year, she sparked controversy when she told Rolling Stone magazine she “considered herself black”.

“[My dad] would look me in the eyes and he’d point his finger at me and he’d be like, ‘You’re black. Be proud of your roots.’ And I’d be like, ‘OK, he’s my dad, why would he lie to me?'” Jackson said of her father, who died in 2009 from cardiac arrest.

“So I just believe what he told me. ‘Cause, to my knowledge, he’s never lied to me.

“Most people that don’t know me call me white. I’ve got light skin and, especially since I’ve had my hair blond, I look like I was born in Finland or something.”

Black television host Wendy Williams slammed Jackson’s claims on her talkshow, saying: “I get that she considers herself black … [but] black is not what you call yourself – it’s what the cops see when they’ve got steel to your neck on a turnpike. But that’s cute.”

There has long been doubt surrounding Jackson’s parentage, with speculation her biological father was actually Michael Jackson’s physician and dermatologist, Dr Arnold Stein.

Dr Stein, who died in 2015, refused to deny the rumours in a 2008 interview with Larry King.

“I still can’t answer [the paternity question] absolutely one way or another,” he said. “I once donated to the sperm bank. To the best of my knowledge, I am not the father. It’s no one’s business.”

While Jackson didn’t have a relationship with her mother when she was younger, she reached out to Rowe when she was 13 after battling mental health issues and attempting to take her own life.

Jackson is currently doing press to promote her role in upcoming movie Gringo, alongside Joel Edgerton, Charlize Theron and David Oyewolo. She also works as a model after signing with IMG last year.

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