Michael Jackson will always be Paris's dad "whether he's her biological father or not," says late star's goddaughter Lucy Lester
Michael Jackson's goddaughter Lucy Lester is making sure that the King of Pop's children are safe from maligning allegations. According to a new report, Lucy declared that Jackson "will always be the dad" of Paris Jackson, whether or not he was really her biological father.
She also mentioned that "all that matters" was that the King of Pop had "raised and loved" Paris, his only daughter.
Lucy's comments come after her father, Mark Lester, who claimed in 2009 that he may have been Paris's real father, and reiterated the sentiment earlier this year when he revealed that he had donated sperm to Jackson. Although Lucy did not deny the claims while appearing on British show 'Loose Women', she said: "Michael will always be her dad. Biologically or not, Michael raised her, loved her, that's all that really matters."
After Jackson's death in 2009, Lester, famously known as the former child star of 'Oliver!', claimed that he could be the father of Paris, who was born in 1998. He corroborated his story by further claiming that she looked like his own daughter Harriet. Ever since, he has laid claims that he could even be the father of the singer's other children, Prince Michael and Blanket.
In the wake of HBO's controversial documentary 'Leaving Neverland' which painted the late musician as a child sexual abuser, Lucy also tried to defend the King of Pop against the allegations. Saying that she had not watched the documentary, Lucy explained, "My opinion is not going to be swayed."
She said: "Of course, in this day and age, an adult sharing a bed with a child, you would look and think there is something wrong with it. But the problem with Michael, because in his mind, he was innocent, he was like a child, to him it was nothing more than two children having a sleepover. The fact that he was so open and honest about it showed that there was no malicious intent behind it… he never understood why people would view him in that way."
During the course of the show, Lucy further recalled her contact with Jackson as a child, saying: "The first time I actually met him I was 12. Every time he was in London, he would phone my dad and say, come out with the kids. We would just stay somewhere in London with him."
She continued, "I don't think we were really that aware that [he was the King of Pop]. It's only now, looking back, that we realized how almost surreal our experience was. People have this persona of him, this eccentric man. To be honest, behind closed doors, he is so down to earth, so genuine, loving and caring. He is a big family man."
Meanwhile, the singer's family has publicly criticized the documentary at every step, calling it a 'public lynching' against the singer now that he is not able to defend himself. The singer's alleged abuse victims, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, filed lawsuits in 2013 saying stress and trauma had forced them to face the truth and admit they were sexually abused, even though the two had formerly testified at Michael's criminal trial in 2005, saying they had slept in the 'Thriller' star's room many times, but that he had never molested them.
