Pop Star Michael Jackson. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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The new Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, has ignited backlash and mixed reviews—critics have accused the film of glossing over the darkest aspects of Jackson’s legacy.
The film stars Michael Jackson’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, in the titular role.
‘Michael’—The Michael Jackson Biopic Controversy, Explained
In the last two decades of his life, Michael Jackson was repeatedly accused of child sex abuse—Jackson and his estate consistently denied the claims, but Michael doesn’t mention the accusations at all.
Michael depicts the life of Jackson up until 1988, the film ending before the abuse allegations began to emerge in the nineties, and onwards.
Michael has sparked plenty of criticism online, as social media commentators questioned the film’s approach to Jackson’s legacy.
Michael depicts its titular star through a rose-colored lens, hitting theatres seven years after Jackson’s legacy was shattered by HBO’s Leaving Neverland, a documentary featuring lengthy interviews with two men who claim to have been sexually abused by Jackson when they were children.
The Jackson estate described the claims made in the documentary as “tabloid character assassination” and sued HBO, resulting in the removal of Leaving Neverland from HBO Max.
Critics often accuse celebrity biopics of taking an uncritical approach, but Michael underwent an unusually chaotic production, with the final act of the film reportedly reshot to remove a plotline that dealt with the allegations.
According to Variety, the final third of Michael originally delved into sex abuse allegations made by 13-year-old Jordan Chandler and the subsequent police investigation in 1993.
This plotline sparked early backlash after a Puck News report of the leaked Michael script claimed the biopic “wants very much to convince you Michael is innocent.”
However, the controversial storyline never made the final cut, as during the editing stage it was discovered that the Jackson estate was barred from depicting Chandler or his family in any movie.
Hence, all mentions of Jackson’s child abuse allegations were scrubbed in an extensive reshoot, estimated to have cost $40 million to $50 million.
‘Michael’ Stars, Jackson Family Respond To The Controversy
Jaafar Jackson’s co-star Colman Domingo responded to the backlash on NBC’s Today, explaining that the biopic covers “the making of Michael,” hinting that a sequel could continue the story.
“The film takes place from the 60’s to 1988. It does not go into the first allegations … there’s a possibility of it being a Part 2 that may deal with some other things that happened afterward,” said Domingo.
“This is about the making of Michael, how he was raised and then how he was trying to find his voice as an artist and be a solo artist.”
Jackson’s nephew, Taj Jackson, posted his thoughts on X (Twitter), writing:
“Sorry media, u don’t get to control the narrative anymore of who Michael Jackson truly was. The public gets to watch this movie … they will decide for themselves. And you can’t handle that.”
Jackson’s daughter, Paris, has spoken out against the film on Instagram.
In a video posted last September, Paris said: “A big section of the film panders to a very specific section of my dad’s fandom that still lives in the fantasy.”
The film’s optimistic approach to Jackson’s life has attracted mixed reviews, with the film receiving a 38% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 94% audience score.
Seemingly, Michael depicts a version of the “King of Pop” that Jackson fans want to remember.
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