New Delhi: The biopic Michael, which portrays the life of Michael Jackson, has reopened old wounds and rifts within the Jackson family, with reports of ‘heated disagreements’ over its portrayal of the late King of Pop. While the film, starring Michael’s nephew Jaafar Jackson, was intended to celebrate his legacy, it has created a visible divide among the family members again.
At the centre of the controversy is the absence of two of the most prominent women in MJ’s life—his sister Janet Jackson and daughter Paris Jackson. Their decision to skip major promotional events, including the Los Angeles premiere, fueled speculation about the family conflict.
Janet’s absence, in particular, has grabbed media attention. Not only did she skip the premiere, but she is also absent from the film itself, a surprising decision given how close she was to her brother. In its review of Michael, The Times gave the biopic one star of five and pointed out the noticeable absence of Janet as a significant character.
According to family members, Janet was invited to participate or be portrayed. But, she declined, a decision that filmmakers say they respected.
“She was asked, and she kindly declined. So you have to respect her wishes,” La Toya Jackson, another sister of Michael, said at the biopic’s April 20 premiere in Los Angeles. The movie is set to hit theatres on 24 April.
‘I moved on with my life’
There is more to Janet’s absence. Some reports suggest her stance has more to do with dissatisfaction among some family members about how the film handles Michael’s story. Her absence has therefore been interpreted as an indication that not everyone agrees with how Michael’s legacy has been curated for the screen.
While Janet has been silent on the topic, neither supporting nor dissing the film, Paris’s response has been far more direct.
Paris, one of Michael’s three children, has outrightly criticised the biopic. Her concerns centre on what she, and many critics, see as a “sanitised” portrayal of her father’s life. The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua and backed by Michael’s estate, focuses heavily on MJ’s rise to fame and musical genius. And, while doing so, it avoided the controversies that influenced the later years of his life.
Paris described the film as catering to “fan fantasies” rather than engaging with the full complexity of her father’s life.
“I read one of the first drafts of the script and gave my notes about what was dishonest, 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 said.
Paris added that she left because it wasn’t her project.
“They’re going to make whatever they’re going to make. A 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.
According to Paris, a big section of the film panders to a very specific section of her father’s fandom that still lives in the fantasy, and they are gonna be happy with it.”
Paris continued to criticise the “sugar-coated” biopic, saying that the narrative is being controlled, there’s a lot of inaccuracy, and a lot of just full-blown lies.
“At the end of the day, that doesn’t really fly with me. Go enjoy it. Do whatever. Leave me out of it,” she added.
Also read: Michael Jackson’s biopic gets poor rating on Rotten Tomatoes. ‘Bland & problematic’
Renewed conflict
Other members of the Jackson family, meanwhile, are in support of the project. Michael’s sons, Prince and Bigi, have backed the film. Prince is even the executive producer.
This isn’t the first time the Jackson family has been divided, and it definitely won’t be the last. Disputes over Michael’s will, longstanding personal tensions, and differing visions for his legacy have been a topic of conversation for years. The biopic has simply brought those tensions back into the spotlight, giving them a new context—this time through the film.
Now, early reviews have, in a way, backed Paris’ claims as critics have criticised “Michael” for being overly cautious and a polished but incomplete portrait of MJ’s life that avoids difficult truths. But, from a commercial perspective, the film is expected to certainly succeed.
As Paris said, the film will cater to the pop star’s fandom, and the novelty of Jaafar portraying his uncle. It is also expected to draw large audiences. That success, however, is coming at the cost of internal family divides.
As the film hits theatres, audiences will see one version of Michael Jackson’s story. But behind the scenes, the Jackson family is still negotiating what that story should be.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)