Paris Jackson Talks Music, Michael Jackson, and Activism With Lee Daniels for Her First Fashion Mag Cover

Paris Jackson has definitely been coming into her own lately. Not only is she outspoken about thorny parts of her personal history or sticking up for her father’s legacy, but her front-row appearance at the Givenchy men’s show in Paris last month got folks talking, she made a show-stopping red carpet appearance at the Grammys, and she was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Now, she’s making more waves in the fashion industry, fronting the latest issue of CR Fashion Book, a first for the up-and-coming artist.

The 18-year-old daughter of music legend Michael Jackson was handpicked by fashion director Carine Roitfeld to be the tenth issue’s cover star, along with hijab-wearing model Halima Aden, who recently walked in the Yeezy Season 5 show during New York Fashion Week. In her interview with director Lee Daniels for the cover story, Jackson talked about why activism and music are so important to her, crediting much of it to her father.

“All of my inspiration, I would say 99 percent of my inspiration, comes from [Michael Jackson], because he has always been my world. He is my roots,” Jackson said in her CR Fashion Book interview.

She’s not just thinking of her personal satisfaction. The girl has much bigger goals.

“I really believe in activism and I want to do bigger things,” she said. “I’m hoping that this year my generation will get to a point where we will rise up, not in a violent way, but start pushing for more liberalism.”

It seems Jackson will use the platform of her new modeling gigs to advocate for the social and political changes she espouses. With more than 50 tattoos now (!!), it’s clear Jackson is about marrying her self expression and her activism: she has an ankle tattoo in support of the Standing Rock protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline — a cause she referenced on the Grammy stage.

While a potentially lucrative and successful modeling career awaits her, Jackson’s staying busy with her music and art, though she doesn’t plan to pursue music as a career.

“Earlier, when I mentioned people rising up and pushing toward equality, the ’60s was the time where even the artists were rising up and creating love instead of war. That’s what I want to do with my art. I want to do what they were trying to do in the ’60s,” she told Daniels. “But it’s not something I see myself following career-wise. There are so many amazing artists in my family. If I were to do it as a career, it would change how I feel about music and I don’t want that to happen.”

Jackson will soon have her acting debut, as she guest-stars in Daniel’s show Star on Fox, which follows the struggles of a girl group as they fight to make a name for themselves and stars Queen Latifah and Benjamin Bratt.

Paris Jackson is showing that no matter whose child she is, she is carving out a space in the industry all her own.

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