Michael Jackson’s new biopic has been savaged by critics, earning a dismal 35 per cent ‘rotten’ score on review aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes.
The film, titled Michael, stars the late singer’s real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson as the King Of Pop, and charts his life from being in the Jackson 5 in the Sixties to his early solo career.
Yet critics have been underwhelmed by the sanitised storytelling of the cultural icon, who famously faced allegations of abusing underage boys.
The Daily Mail’s Brian Viner summarised the movie by noting: ‘the storytelling is simplistic, the omissions egregious, but $200million (the estimated budget) sure buys a fabulous karaoke act’, while awarding the film just two stars out of five.
And it isn’t just critics who have turned their nose up at the film but Michael’s own family members, with his daughter Paris and his sister singer Janet Jackson distancing 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, yet Paris’ absence was glaring.
She has been outspoken in her criticism of the movie, while she is also said to be struggling with the fact she now believes the allegations against against her late father after growing close to family of alleged victims. You can read more about that here.
Michael Jackson’s new biopic starring his nephew Jaafar Jackson has been savaged by critics, earning a dismal 35 per cent ‘rotten’ score on Rotten Tomatoes
It isn’t just critics who have turned their nose up at the film but family members, with his daughter Paris, left, and his sister singer Janet Jackson distancing themselves
Critics have been underwhelmed by the sanitised storytelling of cultural icon Michael Jackson who famously faced allegations of abusing underage boys
Michael’s career and legacy became clouded by rumours of paedophilia beginning in 1993, when he was accused of sexually abusing 13-year-old Jordan Chandler in a lawsuit filed by the boy’s father.
A criminal investigation found no physical evidence of abuse, but Michael ultimately settled the civil suit with the family in January 1994 for $23million.
He later faced further allegations, as well as a high-profile, sensational criminal trial on child molestation charges involving 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo in 2005. He was acquitted of all charges.
He died in 2009 at the age of 50 of a cardiac arrest he suffered after having Propofol administered as a sleep aid.
But his legacy fell under renewed scrutiny in recent years over the ongoing molestation claims, which were reignited by Wade Robson and James Safechuck in the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland.
Leaving Neverland 2 was released last year and saw the pair’s ongoing legal battle as they doubled down on their claims that the late star sexually abused them as children for years.
Now the making of the Michael biopic has torn the Jackson family apart, with the late singer’s estate recently hitting back at Paris after she denounced the biopic.
Paris had raised eyebrows when she claimed Michael was ‘dishonest’ and a ‘fantasy,’ while levelling accusations against the two executors of her late father’s estate who are behind the film’s production.
Her legal battle with John Branca and John McClain reached a peak last year when she accused them of financial mismanagement, lack of transparency and wasting estate resources since her father’s death in 2009.
She said it was ‘troubling’ to her that Branca and McClain used estate funds to finance most if not all of the film’s $150million budget, calling it a ‘botched production.’
Criticising the film’s plot, she said that she had ‘moved on’ after producers didn’t address her notes, but said it would ‘pander to a very specific section of my dad’s fandom that still lives in a fantasy.’
She clarified at the time ‘that I wasn’t involved at all’ and disliked biopics in general because in Hollywood there is ‘a lot of inaccuracy and there’s a lot of full-blown lies.’
In response, lawyers for her late father’s estate responded, telling TMZ that Paris’ protests are ‘without merit.’
They added that she and her lawyers ‘seem far more interested in playing media games by making headline-grabbing, yet false, accusations; raising specific “concerns” over issues previously addressed and resolved, and staging tabloid press photo ops strutting into hearings with obvious props.’
Lawyers for Branca and McClain claimed that Paris and her lawyer also ignored an invitation to meet with them.
Paris is not the only member of the Jackson clan to dismiss the biopic.
Michael’s youngest sister Janet, 59, has been scrubbed from the film after refusing to participate.
Speaking at the Los Angeles screening this week, their sister LaToya Jackson said: ‘I wish everybody was in the movie.
‘She [Janet] was asked and she kindly declined so you have to respect her wishes.’
Also not included in the film are Randy and Jermaine Jackson, although they supported the biopic at the premiere. The eldest Jackson 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 was a no-show (L-R) Blanket, Prince, Jackie Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, and Marlon Jackson
At the latest screening, LaToya Jackson dodged a question about Paris’ comments but confirmed Janet refused to take part in the film, noting ‘everybody has their opinion and their choice’
At the latest screening, LaToya dodged a question about Paris’ comments but noted ‘everybody has their opinion and their choice’.
She added: ‘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.’
While Janet has not publicly revealed her thoughts on the movie, TMZ claims that Janet was ‘very critical’ of the film after watching in a private screening with her family.
Page Six then reported that Janet ‘had something negative about almost every scene.
‘The acting, the makeup, how the actors spoke, even how they walked. It was Janet deciding against the room that this movie wasn’t going to meet her approval.’
Director Antoine Fuqua told Variety that it was important for him to involve the Jackson family in the film, saying: ‘You’re telling somebody’s life, you want to make sure that they’re happy.
He added: ‘I have so much respect and love for Janet, but you know it’s OK. She’s supportive of Jaafar and that’s what matters.’
In regards to his ‘approach’ to the biopic, the director previously said, ‘Just to tell the facts as we know it, about the artist, about the man, about the human being. You know, the good, bad, and the ugly.’
Michael is set for release this week a year later than planned, having initially been planned for an April 2025 launch.
Sources told Deadline back in July that one of the reasons for the delay was due to ‘distribution plans’ – with the film set to be shown on IMAX screens.
Another reason was due to an excessive running time, with one edit of the movie being over three and a half hours long.
Other delays were the result of certain references to Jordan Chandler – an individual who had accused Michael of sexual assault – which had to be taken out of 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 – who is the son of Jermaine Jackson and Alejandra Genevieve Oaziaza – began filming 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 first trailer for the film was released in November, teasing that the fractious relationship between Michael and his father Joe will form much of the film.
According to the film’s official synopsis, ‘Michael will bring audiences a riveting and honest portrayal of the brilliant yet complicated man who became the King of Pop.
‘The film presents his triumphs and tragedies on an epic, cinematic scale — from his human side and personal struggles to his undeniable creative genius, exemplified by his most iconic performances.
‘As never before, audiences will experience an inside look into one of the most influential, trailblazing artists the world has ever known.’
Michael will be released in cinemas on Friday, April 24
