‘My father was murdered’ – Michael Jackson’s daughter Paris

But Paris believes there is more to the story. “He would drop hints about people being out to get him,” she said.

“And at some point he was like, ‘they’re gonna kill me one day”. Asked by interviewer Brian Hiatt if she thought her father was murdered, the 18-year-old replied: “Absolutely”.

“Because it’s obvious. All arrows point to that. It sounds like a total conspiracy theory… but all real fans and everybody in the family knows it. It was a setup.”

She went on to say “a lot of people” wanted her father dead, and that she was playing a “chess game” to bring them to justice. The teenager did not name specific people, and did not implicate Conrad Murray in her accusations.

Paris also revealed she had been sexually assaulted by a “complete stranger” as a teenager, and spoke openly about depression and her 2013 suicide attempt.

“I was crazy,” she said. “I was actually crazy. I was going through a lot of, like, teen angst. And I was also dealing with my depression and my anxiety without any help.”

After a spell in hospital, she is now sober and only smokes menthol cigarettes. She is pursuing parallel careers in modelling and acting, and says she shares her father’s passion for environmental activism.

Since the interview was published on Tuesday, Paris has taken to social media to ask for privacy. “I will not be answering any press regarding the Rolling Stone article whatsoever,” she wrote on Twitter. “If you have questions then read it, it’s crystal clear.”

–bbc