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Paris Jackson Says She Was "Really Confused" About Why Michael Made Her Wear a Mask

Before Michael Jackson's sudden death at the age of 50 back in 2009, few knew what his children -- daughter Paris Jackson and sons Prince and Blanket -- looked like because of the face masks they constantly wore in public. Although Paris says she was "really confused" at the time about the practice, she now understands why her father insisted on it. "I didn't get...

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Kate Stanhope

Before Michael Jackson's sudden death at the age of 50 back in 2009, few knew what his children -- daughter Paris Jackson and sons Prince and Blanket -- looked like because of the face masks they constantly wore in public.

Although Paris says she was "really confused" at the time about the practice, she now understands why her father insisted on it. "I didn't get why I was wearing a mask," she tells Oprah Winfrey in the next episode of Oprah's Next Chapter (Sunday at 9/8c on OWN). "But I understand it now — why my dad would want our faces to be covered. When we went out without him we wouldn't be recognized."

Paris Jackson on Ellen: It was "stupid" that our dad made us wear masks

Her comments come six months after Paris, during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, said it was "stupid" that her and her siblings had to wear masks. Paris, 14, says her father only wanted for her and her brothers to have the normal childhood that he never had, because of his early rise to fame as a member of the Jackson Five. "He told us that when he was younger, he didn't really have a childhood," Paris also says in the interview. "He would always be stuck in the studio singing while other kids were out playing. He wanted us to have that. ...Chuck E. Cheese's and Toys R Us were our favorite places to go."

Watch a preview from Winfrey's sit-down with Paris: