A somber-looking Paris Jackson was spotted out in Los Angeles on Thursday, following a disappointing ruling in legal action she took against the executors of her late father Michael Jackson’s estate.
In a ruling issued Thursday, the referee overseeing the latest challenge ruled in favor of the estate’s motions to strike down portions of Paris’ petition, according to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail.
A retired Los Angeles judge, Mitchell L. Beckloff, was appointed to serve as referee for the dispute, and he ruled on November 10 in favor of Michael Jackson’s estate executors John Branca and John McClain.
Paris — who recently revealed that she suffered permanent nasal damage due to years of drug abuse — had multiple claims struck down under California’s anti-SLAPP statute.
Her claims targeted court filings made by the estate, but legal filings are protected under the law, which is intended to prevent plaintiffs from filing lawsuits to censor or intimidate their critics.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, a spokesperson for Paris Jackson said: ‘This order is limited to minor procedural issues and does not change the facts: the pattern of behavior displayed by the executors and their attorneys raises significant red flags, and Paris will continue working to ensure her family is treated fairly. We will be submitting an updated filing shortly.’
A somber-looking Paris Jackson, 27, was spotted out in Los Angeles on Thursday, following a disappointing ruling in legal action she took against the executors of her late father Michael Jackson’s estate
In documents obtained by the Daily Mail, a judge struck portions of Paris’ complaint from July against the executors of Michael Jackson’s estate under California’s anti-SLAPP statute; Jackson is pictured in 2005 in Santa Maria, Calif.
Paris, who is the middle child of Jackson — her brothers are Prince, 28, and Bigi, 23 — had previously sought to put legal scrutiny on the executors in a June 24 filing obtained by the Daily Mail, in which she flagged what she called questionable bonuses and ‘premium’ payouts the estate made in 2018.
Attorneys for Paris said in their June petition that $625,000 in ‘gifts’ and ‘gratuities’ were dispersed to three law firms for what was described as ‘uncaptured time.’
The petition claimed that the executors made no effort to make sense of ‘why counsel was incapable of recording unbilled time, or why such a failure should not preclude payment.’
Attorneys for Paris added that two of the firms involved had gotten ‘premium payments’ in breach of the ‘Court’s order allowing only partial payment of attorneys’ fees until Court approval is obtained.’
‘Even worse, these payments appear, at least in part, to consist of lavish gratuities bestowed upon already well-compensated counsel.’
In her petition from July 31, Paris requested that the court order her father’s estate executors to ‘file petitions for orders allowing authorizing payment of compensation for attorneys and reimbursement of costs’ for 2019–2023 ‘within 90 days.’
Paris argued that the executors of Michael Jackson’s estate had operated with little oversight and had paid what she said were ‘non-contractual $125,000 and $250,000 gifts’ to attorneys for the estate.
She also said in her filing that the lack of documentation on the payments over the stated five-year period ‘inherently prejudices the ability of the court and the beneficiaries to provide effective oversight.’
Jackson, 27, was seen Thursday leaving a coffee shop in LA. She had taken issue with the estates large ‘gifts’ to its attorneys, but the judge ruled that her complaints targeted protected legal filings by the executors
While portions of her complaint about the executors’ alleged lack of oversight and transparency were preserved
Notably, the executors Branca and McClain didn’t dispute having made those payments, but instead took issue with Paris’ objections to the content of their filings and when they were submitted.
Although the judge determined that parts of Paris’ petition were ‘based directly on the substance of the Executors’ probate court filings … statements made before a judicial proceeding,’ and were therefore protected under the California anti-SLAPP statute, other portions of her petition were left in place.
The judge preserved her complaint about the executor’s oversight of attorney payments and concerns that she and her brothers deserved a more transparent accounting of the executors’ actions from now on.
Paris will now be on the hook for the estate’s attorneys’ fees, but only in relation to work that was performed on its anti-SLAPP defense.
Paris was pictured on Thursday in a faded beige dress and long brown cardigan with brown cowboy boots.
Her wavy blonde hair had dark roots and was styled in a bohemian-inspired side braid that fell over her shoulder.
Paris, a musician like her father, layered several long necklaces and wore artsy earrings while slinging a brown purse over her shoulder.
Earlier this week she admitted in an online video that she has a hole in the middle of her nose as the result of cocaine use.
In another blow to Paris, she was ordered to pay attorneys’ fees to her father’s estate, but only for the time spent on the anti-SLAPP defense; Jackson is pictured in 1993 in Pasadena
‘I realized I never addressed this and it can sometimes be very noticeable,’ she said. ‘I have a really loud whistle because you can hear it when I breathe through my nose and that is because I have what is called a perforated septum.’
The singer gave fans a glimpse of the condition by shining her cell phone flashlight into her nostril, revealing an illuminated tunnel from one side of her nose to the other.
She said the ‘whistle’ sound she sometimes makes when breathing through her nose could be heard in a previously shared video.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, a perforated septum is a hole in the tissue in the middle of the nose that separates the nostrils, known as the septum.
The septum is lined with bone, cartilage and soft tissue that can be pierced or torn due to inhaling cocaine or other drugs.
Perforations can also be caused by excessive use of nasal steroid sprays, injuries, exposure to certain industrial chemicals, infections, autoimmune conditions and even tumors.
Paris, who has been open about her past drug use, hinted at how she got the hole in her nose — ‘It’s exactly where you think it’s from’ — and said she has been dealing with the condition since she was about 20-years-old.
Toward the end of the video, she looked into the camera and advised, ‘Don’t do drugs, kids.’
Earlier this week she admitted in an online video that she has a hole in the middle of her nose as the result of cocaine use. ‘I have a really loud whistle because you can hear it when I breathe through my nose and that is because I have what is called a perforated septum,’ she shared
She then pivoted, ‘Or do [use drugs], I mean, everyone is going to have the experience they need to have with life. I’m not going to tell anyone what to do.’
Earlier this year Paris distanced herself from her dad’s upcoming biopic Michael, whose trailer was released this month.
Her cousin Jaafar Jackson portrays the King of Pop in Antoine Fuqua’s $155 million two-part movie.
Due in theaters April 24, 2026, it’s produced by John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of the Michael Jackson estate.
Paris (full name Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson) took to Instagram to quash actor Colman Domingo’s claim that she is ‘very much in support of our film.’ The actor, 55, plays her great grandfather Joe Jackson in the highly-anticipated movie.
He told People in late August that he’d ‘chatted briefly’ with Paris and her brother Prince, 28, at the amfAR Venezia Gala.
‘They’re very much in support of our film,’ Domingo gushed. ‘I’m excited to be here at amfAR tonight with Paris. It feels like that’s a nice way for us to be together.’
Via Instagram Stories, Paris contradicted his statement and shared her side of things.
‘[Colman Domingo], don’t be telling people I was “helpful” on the set of a movie I had 0% involvement in lol that is so weird,’ Paris wrote to her 5.4 million followers.
She added in a follow-up post, ‘I read one of the first drafts of the script and gave my notes about what was dishonest / didn’t sit right with me, and when they didn’t address it, I moved on with my life.’
