Michael Jackson’s sons commemorated his 65th birthday by surprising his fans in Las Vegas at an event honouring the late King of Pop.
Michael Jackson’s sons Prince Jackson, 26, and 21-year-old brother Bigi Jackson, nicknamed Blanket for years—attended the Michael Jackson Blue Sapphire Birthday Celebration Aug. 29.
The immersive event, held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, was co-hosted by his estate and Cirque de Soleil, which recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Michael Jackson: ONE show at the hotel.
The Michael Jackson’s sons night out marked a rare public appearance for Bigi, who has largely kept out of the spotlight since Michael’s 2009 death at age 50.
And in addition to honouring the “Thriller” singer at the show, Prince posted a tribute to his father on his father on his Instagram. “Happy birthday dad,” he wrote, alongside a throwback pic of himself, Bigi and their sister Paris Jackson, 25, with the singer. “I miss you and I love you. You may be gone but not forgotten. You’re in our hearts each and every day.”
Paris also took to Instagram on Michael’s birthday, defending herself amid criticism from fans who harassed her over not sharing a tribute post to her father.
“So today is my dad’s birthday and back when he was alive, he used to hate anybody acknowledging his birthday,” Paris began the Instagram video. “He actually didn’t want us to even know when his birthday was because he didn’t want us to throw a party or anything like that.”
She continued, “That being said, social media is apparently how people express their love and affection these days and if you don’t wish someone a happy birthday via social media, it apparently means that you don’t love them and you don’t care about them. There have been times where I don’t post anything for my dad’s birthday and people lose their f–king minds.”
However, she proved that even without a dedicated social media post, she was keeping her dad’s spirit alive on his birthday.
In fact, after defending herself from internet trolls, Paris, who is touring with Incubus, played a video of herself paying tribute to her father at a concert that same day.
“He would have been 65 years old today and he put 50 years of blood, sweat and tears and love and passion into doing what he did, so I could stand up here on stage, in front of you, and scream into a microphone,” she said onstage. “So I owe everything to him.”