Paris Jackson, who recently confirmed her bisexuality last month, apologized to her LGBTQ+ fans for her Harper’s Bazaar Singapore cover via Twitter on Sunday.
Jackson’s apology comes after a writer criticized her for appearing on the cover of a magazine in a country where homosexuality is criminalized, according to Allure .
In a scathing editorial titled “Paris Jackson’s Harper’s Bazaar Singapore Cover is Hypocritical,” Gay Star News writer James Tabberer questioned Jackson’s decision to both appear on the magazine and post a picture of the cover on Instagram. In the article, Tabberer wrote, “Perhaps Paris does address the problematic nature of her magazine appearance; perhaps she uses it an an opportunity to draw attention to sexual inequality in Singapore and around the world.”
“But even if she has, that’s immaterial,” Tabberer continued, appearing to admit that he had not read the cover article on Jackson. “What matters the most is the missed opportunity of that Instagram post; of the sorely lacking caption.”
“In Paris’s case, as a member of the community, her decision is all the more disappointing,” Tabberer noted.
After reading Tabberer’s article, Jackson quickly took to Twitter to apologize, writing, “I didn’t know, i am sorry. i was grateful for the opportunity, but i’ll delete the post now.”
“I don’t want to be hypocritical or hurt anyone,” she continued, “and my support for my fellow LGBTQ+ community comes first before my love for fashion and gratitude for this opportunity. again, i’m sorry.”
Shortly afterwards, Jackson went on to suggest that her appearance on the magazine’s Singapore cover was perhaps a sign of progress, since she herself is bisexual. Jackson tweeted, “i would like to add though that someone that is openly apart of the community being on the cover in a country against the community, should be celebrated. isn’t that a step forward? again, i am deeply sorry. i didn’t mean to be hypocritical or hurt anyone.”
It was not until a little later on that Jackson revealed that the photo shoot and interview appeared in multiple international editions of Harper’s Bazaar and was not, in fact, published specifically for the Singapore issue. “The magazine is not just in Singapore, it was supposed to go to several several [different] countries,” she said.
After delivering a sincere and genuine apology to her many LGBTQ+ fans, however, Jackson went back to call Tabberer’s article “ridiculously mean.”
