Gladys Knight attacks Paris Jackson

For years, the Jackson family’s policy—especially Katherine’s wishes—has involved covering up and hiding certain truths. This policy has been violated again and again by the family’s children.

Latoya’s 1990 book was a major challenge for this family. In it, she discussed the private lives of family members and exposed her father’s mistreatment. The Jackson family called her book a lie, but over time it seems that one can also look for the truth in it. One of the book’s chapters is about Germain’s jealousy toward his brother Michael. In 1991, Germain released an insulting song aimed at his brother Michael. In that song, he referred to his personal problems with Michael. Over the years, we have also seen Jackson family issues brought up in the media.

Over the past week, the domestic turmoil reached the media again. Twitter has become an effective—and ruthless—tool. No one could stop Paris’s revelations about family disputes, and in the end it became clear that Prince, her older brother—contrary to what he appears to be—doesn’t know how to tolerate things, and during this time he played a very active role behind the scenes. He waited until his grandmother returned home, and then played his trump card.

Paris and Prince Jackson were not the first people to bring these issues to the media. So why should they be criticized by some family members or other people who have nothing to do with the recent events—especially when they were trying to defend and protect themselves?

This war has involved not only their uncles and aunts, but also their cousins. Surely the children of this family are proud of their Michael uncle/aunt, and they are also proud of their family background. But Prince, Paris, and Blanket are the only heirs to their father’s throne. This is now clearly evident. Michael’s older children have signed a curfew ban for anyone who had a hand in the recent events, and they haven’t even shown mercy to their own children. That means that, until further notice, the Jackson family is divided.

In recent days, many people in the media have discussed this issue. The fan community supports Michael’s children, but some have a different opinion. Gladys Knight, the 68-year-old queen of soul music—who sang praises for Michael at Michael’s 2009 funeral and on similar occasions—has spoken very harshly against Paris Jackson and has openly promoted violence against children.

The issue began when the New York Post trusted a rumor from TMZ and wrote that Janet had insulted Paris and, in response, Paris had demanded that she leave the house quickly in an aggressive tone: “This is our house, not the Jackson family’s house.”

This conversation relates to the time when Janet, Germain, and Randy were forced to try to take Michael’s children out of the house and move them to Arizona. Janet tried twice to snatch Paris’s phone from her hands. The footage from security cameras that clearly showed these events made its way to the media. But the video had no audio—so how did news outlets claim they heard the conversation between Janet and Paris?

This rumor is both tempting and very unrealistic, but it gave Gladys Knight a good excuse to comment:

“I’m Southern, and Southerners raise their children this way. Paris is just a child. They shouldn’t allow her to bring personal issues to the media. If she spoke to me like that, I would smash her teeth in her mouth. She should respect her elders.”

Gladys Knight scolded Paris for something she may not have even said, and she simply ignored the inappropriate behavior of the Jacksons toward Michael’s children that led to such a reaction.

What would Michael’s opinion have been about his family’s recent mistreatment of his beloved children—or about Gladys Knight’s harsh words against her favorite daughter?

“When I look into my children’s eyes, I see beauty and miracles. With them, every day is a celebration for me. My children have allowed me to spend every moment of my life in a sacred world full of wonder. Through my children, I speak to God. I’m grateful for the gift I’ve been given.” ~ Michael Jackson

Fans’ message is clear: You can blame whoever you want, but you have no right to blame Michael’s children!

But Vibe magazine wrote about Gladys Knight’s remarks:

“Southerners do this, Black people do that... but there’s a clear line between raising children and mistreating them. Gladys Knight says that just because Janet is an adult, Paris must respect her and obey her, so she has no right to question her behavior no matter how unfair it is. Since Paris is still a child, she has no right to complain about her family’s unfair behavior and their preventing her from contacting her grandmother. But we have to accept that adults also make mistakes. Our relatives may slip and make errors. And in the absence of a guardian or caretaker who defends the children, they should be able to speak up and protect themselves.

In addition, Gladys Knight’s line ‘I would smash her teeth in her mouth’ is full of flaws. Gladys Knight’s mother certainly doesn’t mean she would actually smash Michael’s daughter’s teeth—this is just a threat! But our children take these threats seriously: if a mother says it, then she will do it. If we threaten children like this, it means it’s okay to be violent sometimes—or even to hit others. Threats cause fear, and fear may make children stay silent, but it will also make them distrust. And in the long run, violent behavior and speech becomes a social pattern for them.

And as for Paris Jackson, whose father had subjected her to mistreatment since childhood and who happened to know Gladys Knight from those early years, history shouldn’t repeat itself like this.”

Source: eMJey.com / vibe