Michael Jackson biopic is savaged over ‘egregious omissions’ after daughter Paris distanced herself amid claims she believes allegations against him and sister Janet was scrubbed from film after refusing to take part
The new biopic of Michael Jackson has been panned by critics, earning a dismal 35 per cent ‘rotten’ rating on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
Simply titled Michael, the film stars the late singer’s real-life nephew, Jaafar Jackson, as the King of Pop and chronicles his life from the Jackson 5 in the ’60s to the early days of his solo career.
But critics were stunned by the sensational storytelling of the cultural icon, who has faced allegations of molesting underage boys.
Brian Viner of the Daily Mail summarized the film: “The storytelling is simple, the omissions are appalling, but $200 million (estimated budget) buys an absolutely spectacular karaoke spectacle”, giving the film just two out of five stars.
And it wasn’t just critics who turned their noses up at the film, but Michael’s own family members as well; daughter Paris and sister Janet have distanced themselves from the biopic.
At the world premiere earlier this month, Michael’s sons Blanket and Prince were joined by members of the Jackson family, including Jermaine and Randy, but Paris was conspicuously absent.
He is said to have been outspoken in his criticism of the film, while also struggling with the fact that he now believes the allegations against his late father after becoming close to the family of the alleged victims. You can read more about this here.
Michael Jackson’s new biopic, starring his nephew Jaafar Jackson (pictured), was panned by critics and received a dismal 35 per cent ‘rotten’ score on Rotten Tomatoes.
It wasn’t just critics who turned their noses up at the film, but also Michael’s own family members; daughter Paris and sister Janet were both moving away from the biopic.
Critics were stunned by the sanitized storytelling of the famous cultural icon (pictured in 2006) who faced allegations of molesting underage boys
The making of Michael truly tore the Jackson family apart; The late singer’s estate has returned to Paris after he recently vociferously condemned the biopic.
Paris raised eyebrows when she claimed Michael was ‘honest’ and ‘fancy’ and made accusations against two executors of her late father’s estate, who were behind the production of the film.
His legal battle with John Branca and John McClain came to a head last year when he accused them of financial mismanagement, lack of transparency and squandering estate resources since his father’s death in 2009.
He said it was “disturbing” to him that Branca and McClain used estate funds to finance most, if not all, of the film’s $150 million budget, calling it a “bungled production.”
He criticized the film’s plot, saying that he “moved on” after the producers failed to address his notes, but that it would “address a very specific part of my father’s fandom that still lives in a fantasy.”
At the time, he said he “wasn’t involved in this at all” and generally disliked biopics because they were in Hollywood.There are a lot of inaccuracies and a lot of outright lies.’
In response, lawyers for his late father’s estate said: TMZ The protests in Paris were ‘unfair’.
They added that he and his lawyers were ‘more interested in playing media games by making headline-grabbing but unfounded accusations’; raising certain “concerns” about issues previously discussed and resolved and organizing tabloid press photo ops by barging into hearings with obvious support.’
Lawyers for Branca and McClain claimed that Paris and her lawyer also ignored an invitation to meet with them.
Paris isn’t the only member of the Jackson clan to reject the biopic.
Michael’s youngest sister Janet, 59, was excluded from the film because she refused to participate.
Speaking at the Los Angeles screening this week, their sister LaToya Jackson said: ‘I wish everyone had been in the film.
‘HE [Janet] ‘ was asked and he politely declined, so you must respect his wishes.’
Additionally, although they supported the biopic at the premiere, Randy and Jermaine Jackson are not in the film. Jackson’s oldest sibling, Rebbie, also does not appear.
Michael’s sons Blanket and Price were joined by several members of the Jackson family at the premiere earlier this month, but Paris did not attend the show (LR) Blanket, Prince, Jackie Jackson, Jermaine Jackson and Marlon Jackson
At the recent screening, LaToya Jackson dodged a question about Paris’ comments but confirmed that Janet had refused to appear in the film, stating that “everyone has their own opinion and preference.”
At the latest screening, LaToya dodged a question about Paris’ comments but said “everyone has their own opinion and preference.”
He added: ‘I think it’s very important that everyone in the family is involved and involved in this to make sure you get it right.
‘A lot of times people think they know the story and they’ve read something, but when family gets involved the family can say yes or no.’
Although Janet hasn’t publicly expressed her thoughts on the film, TMZ claims that Janet was ‘highly critical’ of the film after watching it at a private screening with her family.
Page Six later reported that Janet “experiences something negative in almost every scene.”
‘The acting, the make-up, how the actors talk, even how they walk. It was Janet who decided that this film would not meet her approval.’
Director Antoine Fuqua told Variety that it was important to him to include the Jackson family in the film, saying: ‘You’re covering someone’s life, you want to make sure they’re happy.
He added: ‘I have so much respect and love for Janet, but you know that’s okay. He supports Jaafar and that’s all that matters.’
Regarding his ‘approach’ to the biopic, the director had previously said: ‘Just to tell the truths we know about the artist, the person, the person. You know, the good, the bad and the ugly.’
Originally planned for release in April 2025, Michael is scheduled to be released this week, a year later than planned.
Sources told Deadline We explained in July that one of the reasons for the delay was due to ‘distribution plans’ for the movie set to be shown on IMAX screens.
Another reason was excessive running time, with one edit of the film running over three and a half hours.
Other delays were the result of some references to Jordan Chandler, who accused Michael of sexual assault, being removed from one of the edited drafts due to a pre-existing agreement.
Insiders also told the outlet that a second movie about the Smooth Criminal hitmaker is in development.
Jaafar, the son of Jermaine Jackson and Alejandra Genevieve Oaziaza, started shooting scenes for the biopic in 2023.
Other stars in the project include Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Miles Teller, Laura Harrier, Kat Graham, Jessica Sula, Kendrick Sampson and Juliano Krue Valdi.
The film’s first trailer was released in November, suggesting that the fractious relationship between Michael and his father Joe would form the bulk of the film.
According to the film’s official synopsis, “Michael will provide audiences with a gripping and honest portrayal of the brilliant yet complex man who became the King of Pop.”
“The film presents his triumphs and tragedies on an epic, cinematic scale, from his humanity and personal struggles to his undeniable creative genius exemplified by his most iconic performances.
‘Audiences will experience like never before an insider look at one of the most influential, groundbreaking artists the world has ever known.’
Michael will be released in theaters on Friday, April 24
