The 18-year-old believes her father was murdered and reveals she was raped aged 14

WHENEVER she needs to feel her father’s presence, Paris Jackson breathes in the scent from the rope bracelet on her wrist.

The accessory, bought in Africa and entwined with jade, was found on Michael Jackson’s body when he died of a prescription drug overdose in 2009.

Paris still wears her father’s braceletCredit: PA:Press Association Images
Paris, 18, said: “It still smells of him.

“I feel him with me all the time.”

His daughter is no longer the shy, frizzy-haired child whose face was mostly hidden by a mask in public, but a peroxide blonde model covered in tattoos.

She acknowledges her light-coloured skin makes her look like she was “born in Finland” but insists: “I consider myself black.”

She has 50 tattoos and several honour her legendary dadCredit: Photoshot
Describing how Michael would point at her and say, “You’re black. Be proud of your roots,” Paris believes she has no reason to doubt him.

She said: “I’d be like, ‘He’s my dad, why would he lie to me?

“So I just believe what he told me.

“To my knowledge, he’s never lied to me.”

The bracelet is just one of the many reminders of Michael, along with her nine tattoos, which include part of her dad’s Dangerous album cover on her arm and the words “Faith”, “Trust” and “Pixie Dust” on her collarbone, from their imaginary world together as Peter Pan and Tinker Bell.

Paris identifies as black because her dad Michael told her she wasCredit: Splash News
A cartoon image of the singer adorns one of the walls in his old studio in LA, where Paris lives.

In the years since the King of Pop died, Paris has mostly stayed out of the limelight, battling her own demons away from public view.

Now, in her first in-depth interview, she has revealed her desire to be a spokesperson for her generation, continuing her dad’s passion for environmental issues.

Michael found fame with The Jackson Five before becoming the King of PopCredit: Getty Images
And she has given the world a glimpse into her extraordinary childhood, growing up on a theme park with her troubled billionaire father, oblivious to his global fame and the existence of her own mother.

To her though, her first seven years spent on the Neverland ranch, among the rollercoaster rides and pet monkeys, were normal.

Paris insists Jacko gave them a normal upbringingCredit: Reuters

Michael used to ‘cuss like a sailor’ says ParisCredit: Reuters
She recalled: “We couldn’t just go on the rides whenever we wanted.

“We actually had a pretty normal life.

“We had school every single day and we had to be good.

“And if we were good, every other weekend or so, we could choose whether we were gonna go to the movie theatre or see animals or whatever.

“But if you were on bad behaviour, then you wouldn’t get to do all those things.”

Paris insists they wanted to be home-schooled growing upCredit: Instagram
She insists it was her choice, along with brothers Prince Michael, now 19, and Blanket, 14, to be home-schooled, as they only needed their dad.

But that decision had a huge impact after his death, when Paris found it hard to fit in at regular school.

In the interview with Rolling Stone magazine, she said: “When you’re at home, your dad who you love more than anything will occasionally come in, in the middle of class, and it’s like, ‘Cool, no more class for the day. We’re gonna go hang out with Dad.’

“We were like, ‘We don’t need friends.

“We’ve got you and the Disney channel.’”

As well as teaching her how to cook, reading bedtime stories and introducing his children to a wide range of music, Paris said the Thriller singer’s priority was their education.

She said: “He wasn’t like, ‘Oh yeah, mighty Columbus came to this land!’

“He was like, ‘No. He f***ing slaughtered the natives.’

“He did have kind of a potty mouth.

“He cussed like a sailor.”

We were like, ‘We don’t need friends. We’ve got you and the Disney channel

It is clear Michael could do no wrong in the eyes of his adoring daughter.

She refuses to accept the allegations of child abuse that dogged his final years and made him cry in her bedroom when she was nine.

Heir to a £1.4billion fortune, along with her siblings, she firmly believes her father was murdered.

His doctor, Conrad Murray, who Paris previously called a “cold-blooded murderer” was jailed for involuntary manslaughter in 2009 but she since hit out at his tour promoters AEG, who work their performers “to death”.

Her most recent crusade to protect her father’s reputation came earlier this month against a British TV comedy series, starring Joseph Fiennes as Michael.

She tweeted: “I’m so incredibly offended by it . . . it makes me want to vomit.”

The production was canned the following day.

Paris shows off more of he tattoos on InstagramCredit: Instagram
Paris is the daughter of Michael’s wife of three years, Debbie Rowe, along with her big brother Prince Michael I, who signed over custody after their divorce in 1999.

Blanket — real name Prince Michael II — was born by surrogate three years later.

Several men, including her godfather and Oliver! actor Mark Lester, have claimed they could be Paris’s biological father.

A close friend claimed Michael admitted Lester was indeed the sperm donor.

But Paris refuses to entertain such rumours.

Michael’s pal Mark Lester says he is Paris’s real dad and in the past has said how much she looks like his daughter HarrietCredit: Splash News

Paris only learnt her mother’s name after Michael passed awayCredit: Social Media
She said: “He will always be my father.

“He never wasn’t and never will not be.”

Paris only learned her mother’s first name the year before Michael died.

After Jacko’s death, the children moved in with their paternal grandmother, Katherine Jackson.

Overwhelming grief combined with adjusting to a very different life in the real world was tough.

Paris is in a much better place after falling into drugs and depression

Paris is going to use her fame for goodCredit: PA:Press Association Images
Teenage angst, rebellion, drug addiction, depression — for which she was prescribed the same medication her dad once took — and suicide attempts followed.

At private school, she fell in with “a lot of older people doing a lot of crazy things”.

Paris recalled: “I was doing a lot of things that 13, 14, -year-olds shouldn’t do.

“I tried to grow up too fast, and I wasn’t really that nice of a person.”

Some of the 50 tattoos she has are to cover up track marks from intravenous drug use, while others camouflage the scars from self-harm.

Paris is dating drummer Michael SnoddyCredit: Splash News
Paris, who is dating 26-year-old drummer Michael Snoddy, claims she was sexually assaulted aged 14 by a much older “complete stranger.”

She said: “It was not a good experience and it was really hard for me and, at the time, I didn’t tell anybody.”

Her mental health spiralled and she tried to take her own life “multiple times”.

The final attempt, at , landed her in the headlines and rehab.

Now she claims she is sober, happy and off medication.

Menthol cigarettes are her only vice.

She remains close with her brothersCredit: Getty Images – WireImage
But last September, she appeared to be struggling with online bullying.

In an Instagram video that was quickly deleted, she said: “I don’t understand how there can be so much hatred in the world.

“I’ve tried sticking up for myself, the whole blocking the haters things.

“But it’s hard when there’s so much of it.

“When I was 14, I got so much hatred I tried to kill myself.”

Paris is forging a career as a model, but wants to use her fame for goodCredit: Instagram
Paris and Debbie, 58, were reunited when she was 13 and they have supported each other through emotional turmoil.

Last year, while Debbie was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, Paris posted a picture of the pair with the caption: “I’m a fighter cos she’s a fighter, love you mom.”

Now a model and aspiring actress, Paris recently filmed an advert for Chanel and said she enjoys the work for “selfish” reasons — to “feel pretty”.

Prince Michael I, who produces music videos, and little brother Blanket, who idolises his dad and often volunteers with younger kids, are more camera-shy than their sister.

But Paris plans to use her celebrity status for good.

As revealing as this first major interview has been, it certainly won’t be the last we hear of Paris Jackson.

She said: “I’m really scared for the Great Barrier Reef.

“It’s, like, dying.

“This whole planet is. Poor Earth, man.

“I was born with this platform. Am I gonna waste it and hide away, or am I going to make it bigger and use it for more important things?”