Blanket Jackson, 17, whose real name is Prince Michael Jackson II, has remained out of the spotlight for most of his life, despite being at the center of attention when his father, Michael Jackson died in 2009. But, fans were surprised to see the youngest child of the late singer, when he attended a recent Avengers: Endgame screening with his older brother, Michael Joseph “Prince” Jackson, Jr., 22. While it was a rare outing for Blanket, a source close to the Jackson family tells HollywoodLife, EXCLUSIVELY, that he is beginning to open up more, thanks to Michael, aka Prince. But, he still prefers his private life.
“Blanket looks up to Prince so much. Prince has really taken his brother under his wing and is his main role model,” the family insider says. “Prince really protects his brother as they have a real close bond. They go through life as a team.”
While Prince attends school at Loyola Marymount, the source explains that he still lives with his family and his brother, Blanket at home in Encino, CA. “Being home allows him to look after Blanket, plus, they’re always hanging out,” the family insider reveals. “It takes a lot for Blanket to open up, but Prince always tries to break him out of his shell.”
The source went on to say that Blanket is extremely family oriented. “He’s very close with his family, especially his uncle’s and grandmother. Family is very important to him,” the insider admits, adding that Blanket prefers his life to remain out of the public eye. “He is totally OK with being out of the spotlight. — It works for him, as he really enjoys being out of the limelight. It will likely be something that continues for years to come.”
At age 17, “Blanket is very much still a kid at heart,” the family pal says. “He doesn’t know what he wants to do with his future yet, but, he’s very creative. He’s not interested in singing,” the source admits, but, Blanket is interested in the possibility of exploring production. “He does enjoy entertainment and would love to do something in movies or TV, behind the scenes, because he is one of the most shy kids. He is really like his dad Michael with being shy. He is a really nice kid that keeps to himself. He loves horror movies and video games.”
Blanket has remained away from the cameras and the glitz and glam of Hollywood for most of his life. He slowly stopped attending public events after his father passed in 2009. Then, in 2015, Blanket started going by the name “Bigi”, after suffering years of bullying because of his famous name. It was reported that Blanket had the hardest time dealing with his father’s death, out of Michael’s three children. Paris Jackson, 21, is the middle sibling of the three.
Blanket’s rare outing at the Endgame screening came just weeks after the HBO documentary, Leaving Neverland, which aired allegations made by Wade Robson and James Safechuck that claimed the late Michael Jackson sexually molested them as children. Blanket and Prince did not address the controversial documentary publicly. However, their sister, Paris tweeted about it numerous times, encouraging critics to approach the topic with a “calm mind,” and to focus on the “bigger picture.”