Let’s all take a trip back to 2003. America had Brother Bear fever! Everybody was listening to Evanescence for some reason! And one of the biggest new “stars” of the year was Blanket Jackson, the third child born under mysterious circumstances to the former “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson.
His name isn’t really Blanket. (Celebrities give their kids weird names, but not that weird.) He got the nickname because his name is Prince Jackson, which also happens to be the name of his older brother. Calling him “Blanket” avoids confusion, plus Michael Jackson usually roamed around in public with the baby shrouded in identity-concealing blankets.
Most people first became aware of Blanket when in the 2003 TV documentary Living With Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson dangled baby Blanket over a balcony. That controversial film was about the last time the public saw either Michael Jackson or Blanket Jackson, until the King of Pop died in June 2009. The younger Jackson has only been seen in public or photographed a few times in the near-decade since.
To my grandson Blanket https://t.co/6AvEdBl1hs pic.twitter.com/XbmeaEiKkQ
— Joseph Jackson (@Joe5Jackson) November 13, 2017
A couple of those times have occurred in the past month. Grandfather Joe Jackson released a photo of Blanket in November, around the time that his wife, Katherine Jackson, began proceedings to dissolve her legal custodianship of the kid. Also, Blanket doesn’t go by Blanket anymore, or Prince—as of 2015, he’s Bigi Jackson. And because it’s Christmas, Bigi/Blanket/Prince posed for a picture with his brother Prince, sister Paris, and family friend Omer Bhatti. Paris Jackson posted the photo to her Instagram account. (Even celebrity teens look like sullen teens when posing for a family portrait; Bigi is one the far left.)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdIxz4PHJnW/?hl=en&taken-by=parisjackson
Michael Jackson’s fans were quite thrilled to see baby Blanket as a teenager.
Looks like #Blanket is going to be the tallest one. Gotta love those family portraits 😊
— hesouttamylife (@Ilive4u4me) December 26, 2017
Michael’s kids are blessed.
— emily (@elewis80) December 26, 2017
He never smiles. He handsome tho
— King Usher 👑 (@Theresa51889) December 26, 2017