Paris Jackson 'in media spotlight'

The man who defended Michael Jackson in his 2005 child abuse trial has said "repeated media attention" could have complicated the life of the singer's 15-year-old daughter Paris.

The teenager was taken to hospital after what is thought to have been a possible overdose, but is now "safe and doing fine".

Lawyer Tom Mesereau said Jackson's children faced a "tremendously public profile" when their father died.

"Michael was a very, very devoted father and very protective of his children," he told Daybreak. "All of a sudden he was gone and what replaced him was a tremendously public profile of these children, a lot of involvement with the media, with the entertainment world.

"Everywhere they went they were followed, they were examined, they were dissected, they were criticised. And obviously this has caught up to her, and it's really a tragedy. She's a beautiful, brilliant, popular, kind-hearted, lovely young girl who clearly has some troubles that have to be addressed."

The lawyer said the 15-year-old was at a difficult age, and unlike other young people she has to deal with the added pressure of the media spotlight.

"Teenage years are difficult anyway, but to subject someone to this kind of repeated media attention has got to complicate things even more," he said.

Mr Mesereau said any problems faced by Paris are "magnified a thousand times by the media attention that her family just repeatedly has".

The lawyer said we never know what "lurks inside people".

Fire and sheriff's officials said they transported someone from a home in the Calabasas neighbourhood of Los Angeles with a possible overdose, but did not release any identifying information or additional details.