Paris Jackson Wishes Late Father a Happy Birthday in Emotional Post

Michael Jackson was a generational icon to the world, but to Paris Jackson, he was simply a fun, loving father.

In honor of the King of Pop’s birthday, his daughter shared an emotional post on Instagram Tuesday, August 29. The singer would have been 59 years old.

In the photo, a young Paris kisses her father, who dons his iconic silver sequin glove and black sequin jacket.

“birthday wishes to the love of my life, the one person who showed me what passion truly was, the one that gave me solid morals to live by and how to dream,” she wrote in the touching caption. “i will never feel love again the way i did with you. you are always with me and i am always with you. though i am not you, and you are not me, i know with all of my being that we are one. and our souls will never change in that way. thank you for the magic, forever and always.”

The 19-year-old model also posted another tribute to her father—fan art of Michael’s ghost kissing Paris’ forehead as she posed on the 2017 MTV VMAs red carpet two days earlier.

In the near decade since Michael’s death, Paris has denounced several rumors about her father’s life, including one that he isn’t her biological father. “He is my father. He will always be my father. He never wasn’t, and he never will not be. People that knew him really well say they see him in me, that it’s almost scary,” the teen told Rolling Stone in January 2017. “I consider myself black. He would look me in the eyes and he’d point his finger at me and he’d be like, ‘You’re black. Be proud of your roots.’ And I’d be like, ‘OK, he’s my dad, why would he lie to me?’ So, I just believe what he told me. ‘Cause, to my knowledge, he’s never lied to me.”

In the interview, she said her father still visits her in her dreams: “I feel him with me all the time.”

Photo credit: Instagram / @parisjackson, Getty / Jackson Lee