The Stunning Transformation Of Michael Jackson's Son, Blanket

The late Michael Jackson was married twice — to Lisa Marie Presley from 1994 until 1996, and to Debbie Rowe from 1996 until 1999. During that latter marriage, Rowe and Jackson welcomed two children (although their actual parentage is somewhat murky, with sources telling the Daily Mail that all three were conceived via in-vitro fertilization). Following the birth of son Michael Jackson Jr. in 1997, and the arrival of daughter Paris Jackson in 1998, came another son, Prince Jackson II, born in February 2002. "Blanket," as Jackson's youngest child came to be known, was born via a surrogate whose identity remains anonymous, leading to some conspiracies that Michael wasn't his biological father. In 2009, Al Malnik — Blanket's godfather — refuted rumors that he fathered the child. "Of course, I'm not the biological father," he said during an interview with Today.

Before he died in 2009, Jackson kept his children out of the public eye. After his death, however, the three have all entered the spotlight, to varying degrees. "Prince" (as the eldest sibling is now called) has ventured to become a media personality, serving as a correspondent for "Entertainment Tonight," while sister Paris is a successful model, actor, and aspiring singer-songwriter. Blanket, however, has largely stayed out of the spotlight, although he's become more visible in recent years.

To find out more about the King of Pop's youngest child, read on for a look at the stunning transformation of Jackson's Son, Blanket.

Like his siblings, Blanket Jackson made headlines when he was born. However, he wound up at the center of controversy as an infant. In November 2002, Michael Jackson and his children were staying at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin, when Jackson appeared from the window of his fourth-floor hotel room, about 60 feet above the sidewalk below. Responding to the fans who'd gathered on the street, Jackson held the baby in one arm, with his other hand holding a small facecloth atop the baby's head to conceal his face. Jackson quickly dangled the squirming, kicking infant over the railing before whisking him back inside. 

The moment was captured on video, greeted with shock, horror, and outrage that Jackson — who appeared to nearly lose his grip on the baby — would do something so reckless and foolhardy. As The Washington Post reported, Kevin O'Sullivan, editor of the British tabloid The Mirror, eviscerated Jackson in an editorial, headlined, "Mad Bad Dad," writing, "The Berlin police should arrest this negligent father for reckless endangerment of his own child."

The backlash was severe enough that Jackson quickly issued a statement to apologize for what he'd done. "I offer no excuses for what happened. I made a terrible mistake," the singer said in a statement, as reported by the Post. "I got caught up in the excitement of the moment. I would never intentionally endanger the lives of my children."

After the 2009 death of Michael Jackson, his mother, Katherine Jackson, was granted custody of his three children. That appeared to work out well until the situation took a strange turn in 2012 when a judge removed the children from her guardianship and awarded temporary custody to her nephew, T.J. Jackson (son of Tito Jackson). T.J. was seeking to retain permanent custody — which came with an $86,000 per week allowance. "The kids love T.J. and trust him. This is good news," a source told E! News, explaining that the change in custody had to do with the fact that Katherine was out of state, while another source refuted rumors of family skulduggery behind the situation. "The idea that Katherine is sedated and being held prisoner by her own children is preposterous," that source stated.

Ultimately, a deal was reached in which Katherine and T.J. Jackson shared custody of the kids. "Mrs. Jackson is extremely pleased with the prospect of enjoying the pleasure of raising Michael's children without the day-to-day tedium of items such as managing the large staff that goes with such a high profile family and focus her attention on being a grandmother and raising Michael's children," her attorney, Perry Sanders said, as noted by CNN.

In 2017, Katherine — then 87 — resigned as Blanket's guardian, passing the full custody to T.J.

In 2012, Blanket Jackson — then just 10 years old — sat down for a video interview for a documentary about his father, Michael Jackson.

When quizzed about his most vivid memory of his father, he confessed it was tough to pinpoint just one favorite moment. However, one pastime did stand out. "I like having pillow fights and stuff. Those were fun," he shared. 

During the interview, he also revealed that "Beat It" was his favorite of all his father's songs. He also recalled that he would sometimes watch his dad dance. "He was a very good dancer," Blanket said, but admitted the skills that made his father famous were not passed along to him. "I can't dance or sing," he said with a smile. He also revealed his ambition, at 10, for when he became an adult. "When I grow up, I want to be a director," he stated.

The tragic death of Michael Jackson, and the scandalous circumstances underlying it, proved to be devastating to his three children. In addition to the grief they experienced, the siblings also found their lives uprooted as they were sent to live with their grandmother. Meanwhile, being at the center of a contentious custody dispute — to say nothing of legal battles regarding their father's considerable estate — certainly didn't make an already fraught situation any easier.

Of the three, it was Blanket who was reportedly the most severely impacted by the death of his father. In 2017, an anonymous source described as a family friend opened up about how the kids had been coping in the years since Jackson's death. "The kids live like Michael is constantly looking down upon them," that source told People. However, the source also stated that it was Blanket — who was then 15 years old — who "had the most problems adjusting after Michael died," and that he "acted very lost and extremely upset."

Despite sharing the same name as his older brother (save for a Roman numeral), Blanket Jackson had been carrying that nickname since childhood. In fact, Michael Jackson first revealed his son's unusual nickname and explained its origin during a TV interview before his death. "It's an expression I use with my family and my employees," Jackson explained in the interview. "I say, 'You should blanket him, you should blanket her with something.' Meaning, a blanket is a blessing. It's a way of showing love and caring."

Despite the endearing meaning behind the name, the child who bore it grew to dislike the moniker after it led to bullying at school. According to People, this was why he eventually decided to stop using that nickname in favor of another.

He is no longer known as Blanket; he changed it to Bigi, the name by which he is now known.

In 2019, Prince Jackson teamed up with his brother Bigi to launch a YouTube channel. Among the diverse content was a movie review show, with Prince making the announcement via Instagram."We are very excited to announce that we are starting a movie review channel," he wrote, linking to the debut episode. In their debut, they were joined by pal James Sutherland and their cousin, Taj Jackson, to share their opinions on "Avengers: Endgame," the Marvel blockbuster that closed the book on the big-screen saga of the superhero team.

To call the production casual is an understatement; while the guys talk, Bigi is seen chowing down on some pizza. Revealing he'd watched the film three times, he said he'd liked it, but felt a bit disappointed after his second viewing. The third time, however, proved to be the charm. "Watching it the third time, I really realized, like, it's one of the few movies I could probably call perfect," he said between bites.

While Prince's initial announcement indicated the movie review show would be an ongoing venture, it didn't work out that way. A perusal of the YouTube channel reveals that the first episode remains the only one, indicating the premiere may have also served as the finale.

Prince Jackson and Blanket Jackson's short-lived attempt at reviewing movies on YouTube hinted at their interest in film. According to Prince, that's true for both siblings, but particularly for Blanket. "My brother has a really unique talent to be able to tell you, even a movie he hasn't seen, he'll tell you what year it came out," Prince told ET back in October 2019. "He knows the director, the staff, the crew, everybody behind it that you wouldn't know. He really thinks and studies about film in a different way that you would notice and that comes with his upbringing with my dad encouraging him to study film," he said. 

One reason behind the siblings' love of film came from their unique upbringing. "We had a film teacher at a very young age," Prince explained, revealing that it was Blanket who was really the driving force behind the movie review project. "So it was really his idea and he was championing behind it," he said.

Bigi Jackson — formerly known as Blanket — turned 18 years old in 2020. He celebrated with his brother Prince Jackson and his sister Paris Jackson, with the latter commemorating the occasion on Instagram. While that original post was subsequently deleted, Today reported that she shared a series of throwback photos from their childhood.

"My little brother is a legal adult today. what the f**k," she wrote in the caption. "I used to change his diapers. This is such a trip ... proud of the handsome, intelligent, insightful, funny, and kind young man he has become." She also referenced her youngest brother's penchant for staying out of the spotlight, adding, "He likes privacy so that's all i gotta say. hbd lil bro."

Prince also paid tribute to Bigi on social media with an Instagram Stories post revealing that all three siblings celebrated with a sumptuous dinner at Los Angeles sushi joint Yamashiro. "Thank you @yamashirola and @chefvallerie for helping us celebrate Bigi's 18th bday!!" he wrote in his post, accompanying pics of the sushi they'd tucked into. A few months earlier, Bigi appeared in his brother's Instagram feed when they posed together to celebrate Prince's graduation from Loyola Marymount University.

Bigi Jackson seemingly came into some inheritance money after turning 18. In 2020, he decided to spend some of it by purchasing a $2.6 million mansion in Calabasas, California, famously home to the Kardashians; as CNBC reported, among his celebrity neighbors are rapper Dr. Dre and actor John Travolta. Situated within a gated community, with a guard on duty, Jackson's home isn't far from the house inhabited by his grandmother, Katherine Jackson, where he grew up.

There's plenty of room for Jackson to roam around, given that the 6,382-square-foot house boasts six bedrooms and seven-and-a-half bathrooms. Among the amenities are hardwood floors, three fireplaces, and a massive kitchen, while the backyard is equipped with a large swimming pool. 

As CNBC pointed out, he was the last of his three siblings to move out on his own; sister Paris bought a $2 million house in 2017, while that same year brother Prince plunked down $2.2 million for a place of his own.

Spending most of his life eschewing the spotlight, Bigi Jackson became increasingly public in his teen years. In 2021, he made a big step when he agreed to appear on "Good Morning Britain." In the segment, Bigi is shown taking the interviewer on a tour of his father's home, in which an array of memorabilia is on display. "There's a lot of really cool stuff here," he said. "I think there's a lot of history in this house and studio here. And that's what he was all about and that's just kind of what each of us wants to do ... make things that people hopefully enjoy, but also can benefit their lives."

Jackson also spoke out about climate change, using his platform as a celebrity — albeit a reluctant one — to emphasize how much more needs to be done to address it. "I do think it's important that we all know about it, and I think we have some work to do, but our generation knows how important it is," he added.

In August 2023, Bigi Jackson accompanied his brother Prince Jackson to Las Vegas. The purpose of the trip wasn't to indulge in gambling or any of the other vices available in Sin City but to pay tribute to their late father, Michael Jackson. The occasion was a special one, with the brothers taking in the Cirque du Soleil show, "Michael Jackson ONE," on what would have been their dad's 65th birthday.

Prince shared a video, in which he and Bigi can be seen greeting fans and posing for photos in the venue. The highlight of the trip, Prince explained in the video, came when he, Bigi, and some others were given a private tour of the immersive experience that accompanied the show at the Mandalay Bay resort. According to Prince, he was especially enamored of the "Billie Jean"-inspired floor, in which different blocks light up when they're stepped upon.

Prince concluded the video by revealing that he takes in the show each time he visits Vegas, and highly recommends it. "I think I'm biased," he said, "But I do think it's the best show on the Las Vegas strip."

In March 2024, Bigi Jackson became a focal point in ongoing Jackson family tensions. According to TMZ, he is involved in a complex legal dispute among family members over the distribution of substantial income from the estate of his late father, Michael Jackson.

As the outlet reported, Bigi and his grandmother, Katherine Jackson, had initially joined forces to legally oppose the executor of his father's estate from making an unspecified business deal — which TMZ theorized was the sale of half of the late singer's music catalog to Sony Music for a reported $600 million. The judge ruled against them in that case.

Katherine, however, is appealing the decision; Bigi, on the other hand, reportedly wants nothing to do with the appeal and is suing to prevent his grandmother from using money from the estate to fund the appeal. As Billboard reported, Bigi feels it's unlikely that the appeal will succeed, and doesn't see the point of throwing more money at a lost cause. "It is readily apparent that a reversal on appeal would be an extreme longshot," Bigi's lawyers wrote in his suit. "Given those odds, Bigi decided not to waste his resources to participate in an appeal. Nonetheless, Katherine has decided to appeal this court's ruling. That decision is not for the benefit of the heirs." According to Billboard, legal fees for the appeal exceed half-million dollars — which Bigi isn't willing to spend.