It might have only hit cinema screens today, but reviews for the highly anticipated Michael Jackson biopic have indicated that tuning in will be a complete waste of time.
Just under 18 years on from The King of Pop’s death aged 50, the film Michael has been released.
Ahead of its premiere, the film was teased as the ‘cinematic portrayal of the life and legacy of one of the most influential artists the world has ever known’.
Starring the late musician’s nephew Jaafar Jackson, the film explores Jackson’s life ‘beyond the music’, it ‘traces his journey from the discovery of his extraordinary talent as the lead of the Jackson Five, to the visionary artist whose creative ambition fuelled a relentless pursuit to become the biggest entertainer in the world’.
Made on a reported budget of £200million (£148million) – numbers that would make it the most expensive biopic of all time – early reviews have called it ‘bland’, ‘shallow’ and ‘sanitised’.
Although it was made with the support of most of Jackson’s family – his daughter Paris hasn’t held back when discussing her distaste over its production, calling it ‘dishonest’ and full of ‘full blown lies’. Here’s everything she’s said about the film that focuses on her father’s life and career.
What has Paris Jackson said about the film Michael?
Last week Michael Jackson’s sons’ Prince, 27, and Bigi (Blanket), 24, attended the world premiere of Michael in Berlin, where they were also joined by other family members including their cousin Jaafar and uncles Jermaine and Randy.
However, one notable absence was Paris, who has distanced herself from the movie over the past six months.
In September last year the 28-year-old posted a series of videos on social media in which she detailed how she ‘read one of the first drafts of the script and gave my notes about what was dishonest’.
‘It didn’t sit right with me and when they didn’t address it, I moved on with my life. Not my monkeys not my circus. God bless and god speed,’ she declared.
In another video she also clarified that she ‘wasn’t involved at all’ after Colman Domingo, who plays her grandfather Joe Jackson, said they’d ‘chatted briefly’ about the film.
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‘Her brother [Prince] is very much a fan of the film. He’s also a producer on the film as well. But Paris has been nothing but lovely and warm,’ he said.
However, Paris pushed back and said she’d only met Colman twice – once at a birthday party and then at a charity event, which she described as ‘hella brief interactions’.
The model and actress then said she didn’t agree with Hollywood biopics about celebrities and musicians that usually overlooked their subjects’ complexities.
‘They’re gonna make whatever they’re gonna make. The big reason why I haven’t said anything up until this point is because I know a lot of you guys are gonna be happy with it,’ she said of the Michael film.
‘The film panders to a very specific section of my dad’s fandom that still lives in a fantasy, and they’re gonna be happy with it.
‘The thing about these biopics is it’s Hollywood. It’s fantasy land – it’s not real. But it’s sold to you as real, and a lot of sugar-coated… the narrative is being controlled. There’s a lot of inaccuracy and there’s a lot of full-blown lies. At the end of the day, that doesn’t really fly with me. I don’t really like dishonesty.’
Although she conceded fans will probably ‘like the movie’, she asked them to ‘leave me out of it’.
Around the same time, she also hit back against claims she ‘hated’ her dad.
‘Something quite a lot of people are saying is, “She hates her dad. She resents him. She wants nothing to do with him”, because I’m not, like, calling the shots on set being a big-shot producer of a movie that’s filled with just inaccuracies,’ she declared.
‘That’s not my truth. That’s not where I’m coming from. I just prefer honesty over sales and monetary gain. That’s it. I kinda just don’t want anything to do with that.’
Have Michael Jackson’s other children weighed in?
Although Paris has been incredibly vocal in her opposition to the film, her brothers have largely stayed quiet.
Apart from expressing their support by attending the premiere, all that’s been said about the film itself came over two years ago.
In February 2024 Prince re-shared a first look photo of Jaafar playing his dad in the film, posting on Instagram: ‘Super excited to share with y’all the first look of #MichaelMovie starring my cousin @jaafarjackson!
‘This project has had so many special moments for me and everyone involved. This photo was taken by my dad’s concert photographer @kevinmazur who was there for my dad’s last rehearsal and Jaafar’s first performance!
‘Thanks everyone one for the birthday wishes! Special thanks to my cousin @jaafarjackson watching you perform and work your butt off is the closest I’ll ever come to watching my dad in concert and it’s been a dream come true! Proud of you cuz!’
How involved have the Jackson family been in the movie?
Michael first went into development in 2019, with several members of the Jackson family being involved behind-the-scenes.
The film also stars Nia Long as Katherine Jackson and Miles Teller as entertainment lawyer and manager John Branca.
Jackson’s mother and Jaafar’s grandmother Katherine previously shared her approval of the casting, saying her grandson ‘embodies’ her son. Meanwhile Jaafar said he was ‘humbled and honoured’ to be cast in the role, which came after a two-year casting process.
The Jackson family, and Michael Jackson’s estate, were heavily involved in the making of the film, with producer Graham King revealing that in addition to frequent talks with the siblings, Prince ‘was on set every day’, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
Speaking to the publication, King also confirmed that he hadn’t spoken to Paris recently, while writer John Logan said he didn’t talk to her during his research.
‘Certain people in the family weren’t interested in talking and that was fine; they didn’t want to be represented in the movie or dramatised in the movie, that’s totally fine,’ Logan said.
‘And look, Michael is a complicated person, people have complicated opinions, and that’s fine. We chose to tell the uplifting story of his triumph in the movie, and that’s what we did.’
Following the Berlin premiere, Jackson’s siblings La Toya, Marlon, Jermaine and Jackie Jackson also all attended the Los Angeles premiere.
‘I think it’s very important that everybody in the family was involved and took part in this to make sure you get it right. A lot of times people think they know the story and they read about things, but when the family’s involved, the family can say yay or nay,’ La Toya said.
Speaking to Variety she also revealed that her sister Janet ‘kindly declined’ to be portrayed in the film, adding: ‘So you have to respect her wishes.’
Dodging a question on her niece’s opposition to the film, she shared: ‘Everybody has their opinion and their choice.’
Michael is now in cinemas.
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