Jackson legacy now gets a Prince

In some ways,he seems like just another 16-year-old boy.

In some ways,he seems like just another 16-year-old boy. He drives a Ford Raptor pickup. He took his girlfriend bowling. On social media,he talks about movies,video games and junk food. Sample tweet: Burnt myself on a corn dog.

But lately,Michael Jacksons oldest son,Prince,has become a teenager about town. TMZ.com and other tabloid media outlets have shown him taking in the Rolling Stones and having a powwow with police over strobe lights mounted on the grille of that truck. Its a far cry from the boy Michael Jackson shielded for years, TMZ wrote last month.

Prince,who just a few years ago was wearing a feathered face mask in public to protect his identity,turned paparazzi heads in October with an unusual appearance to promote an energy drink. I have a wide,broad horizon, he said standing next to his aunt,La Toya,and holding a can of Mr Pink Ginseng Drink just so.

In February,he appeared on Entertainment Tonight,the grande dame of tabloid TV shows,as a special correspondent. He chatted with James Franco,Zach Braff and Sam Raimi about Oz the Great and Powerful. Do you have any advice for someone whos looking to get into the business? Recently,he made his acting debut: a cameo on 90210.

Whats behind this sudden step into the spotlight?

Its tough to get answers when you are dealing with the Jacksons. La Toya and Prince had no comment. A lawyer for his grandmother,Katherine Jackson,who shares custody of Prince and his siblings Paris,15,and Blanket,11,did not respond to a request for comment.

Maybe,as La Toya said in a March statement after a negative New York Post article La Toya Jackson Seizes Careers of Jackos Kids,Princes budding show business career is simply part of turning 16. Teenagers get jobs. What was he supposed to do? Steam milk at Starbucks?

The statement read in part: When she asked her nephew what he wanted for his birthday,he replied,I just want to work. It was at that time that she diligently started to assist him.

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But a lot of people are wincing. Fans worry about what the protective Michael would think; he wanted his kids to have a show biz-free childhood,the one he longed for but never had. Does Prince really want to start an entertainment career,or is this just a creepy continuation of the Jackson family way?

Randall Sullivan,author of Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson,sees a more nuanced picture. Yes,the Jackson family has an unsavoury history when it comes to children and work. But there was no way these kids were going to be able to maintain a low profile once they became teenagers,Sullivan said in an interview. Prince is smart and older than his age, Sullivan added. The older kids know their power. The medias interest in them is ten times the rest of the family.

Princes involvement in Entertainment Tonight came about after one of the programmes correspondents met him at a philanthropic event,according to Linda Bell Blue,the shows executive producer. The teenager told Anderson he was interested in TV. I think Michael would be busting the buttons off his shirt, Bell Blue said. He would be so proud. Prince is very serious about this,very prepared.

Bell Blue noted that Katherine Jackson agreed to let Prince participate on one major condition: It could not be on a school day. He attends Buckley,a private school where tuition and annual fees run 36,335.

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She wants Prince to appear on her programme again,adding: He will control his own agenda. He is not going to let anybody push him around.

BROOKS BARNES