POP legend Michael Jackson was paranoid about his safety, his career and p***ing off the wrong people, his son revealed in an interview.
Prince Jackson also believes the King of Pop – who died in 2009 from an overdose – was “undervalued” as a businessman.
In an interview on Mike Tyson’s Hotboxin’ podcast, Prince said his dad was “paranoid” that top execs in the music industry were out to get him.
The 26-year-old said: “He would come home worried about his safety, about his career, about his assets because he felt that he was p***ing off the wrong people.
“Either through his messages of unity or calling out other entities. For whatever reason it was, it was putting a target on his back.”
Yet regardless of his inner demons, Prince said his dad always saw himself as the “greatest of all time”.
Asked if he believed his dad was “desensitised” by fame, Prince said: “I have to believe so, just because I grew up always being surrounded by fans.
“It wasn’t really until after he died and I became more ingratiated into normal society that I realised it wasn’t normal.
“He did that from when he was like six years old. I think you become used to it. It’s normal.”
Prince, whose full name is Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., is the eldest son of Michael and his second wife, Debbie Rowe, with whom he also had a daughter, Paris Jackson.
They were married for three years from 1996 to 1999 and Debbie was almost entirely absent from the children’s lives, having handed over her children as a “gift” to their dad after an unusual conception.
Prince said his biggest regret is never seeing his dad’s solo show and the This Is It comeback as he died before the shows.
“I was born in 1997, so the biggest kind of call it a regret is I never got to see him before.
“What I did get to see him perform at Madison Square Garden right before 9/11 with the Jackson five reunion.
“That was really cool to see the memory of having, seeing the crowd of people. And I only remember seeing a little bit, but then we got swarmed by the crowd.
“That was the only time I saw him perform.
“And I don’t have a memory of him coming off of stage, but he was dancing constantly.”
Prince also revealed that he has been involved in the filming of his late father’s upcoming film biopic, shadowing Hollywood producer Graham King.
It’s been nearly eight years in the making – and involved hundreds of intimate conversations with the family.
“He reached out to my father’s estate and said he wanted to do a movie on my dad,” Prince said.
“He felt like there was a real story to be told there. And shortly after that, I met with him.
“I’ve kind of been learning from him in a way, because it’s another great way to learn underneath about my dad, but also about the film industry from a pro… a certified legend.”
The pop icon’s eldest son fondly described his father, who had two other children, as “daddy” to him, not “the Michael Jackson”.
“I spent a lot of time speaking with Graham about the man that I knew as my father, which is not the King of Pop, was not the Michael Jackson. It was daddy to me.
“And after I read the first draft of the script, I called him, because I was crying afterwards.
“I told him that he had the most authentic picture of my father.”
Prince revealed that he cried when his dad signed away Neverland – but said he still visits the ranch to reflect on his childhood memories.
For much of their childhood, the Jackson children lived a sheltered life on the Neverland property, and were home-schooled.
“We hated to see it go. For me personally, it’s just an unrealistic property to manage.
“And I don’t want to put any blame out there on anyone, but just some mistakes were made.
“It didn’t make sense for us to keep it, but we got very lucky in the sense that one of my dad’s good friends bought it.
“And so what he did is he put the property back to what it used to be, and he uses it for what my dad intended it to be used for.”
The massive property in California – purchased by the popstar in 1987 for around $19.5million – was bought by billionaire businessman Ron Burkle.
The 2,700-acre property near Santa Barbara boasts a nearly 12,000-square-foot mansion, in addition to a 50-seat movie theater, a basketball court, and a number of guesthouses.
It once had a railroad and an amusement park that included a Ferris wheel and a merry-go-round, most of which has reportedly been removed.
Jackson was accused of abusing children on the property, accusations which he vehemently denied.