Michael Jackson was the “King of Pop” and one of the biggest stars on the planet during his life. However, his personal life was also wildly controversial. As such, the upcoming biopic about Jackson’s life, simply titled Michael, has had more than its share of buzz long before anybody has seen it. Now, there’s seemingly a new conflict concerning just how involved Jackson's kids have been involved with the making of the film.
Colman Domingo, who appears in Michael as Jackson family patriarch Joe Jackson, recently told People that Jackson’s two kids, Prince and Paris have been very supportive of the upcoming movie. However, upon hearing this, Paris took to Instagram to reveal that she hadn’t been involved in the film since very early on. As for why she "moved on," Paris says this:
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 godspeed.
Paris Jackson doesn't go into detail about what exactly she didn’t like about the script, and it’s unclear if, through subsequent drafts, any of her concerns were later addressed. However, she does specify in a later Instagram story reel that she was specifically told that her concerns regarding the first draft would not be addressed and, at that point, she walked away. Jackson also gave some indication as to why she took issue with the film, saying…
A lot of the reason I haven’t said anything up until this point is that I know a lot of you guys are going to be happy with it. The film panders to a very specific section of my dad’s fandom that still lives in the fantasy, and they’re going to be happy with it.
It’s certainly possible that details changed over the course of additional drafts. If Paris Jackson only saw the first, the screenwriters could've made adjustments later on. What’s clear now, however, is that Jackson thought early on that the film wasn’t going to be an accurate depiction of her father’s life and so she choose not to be involved.
Jackson specifically calls out Bohemian Rhapsody as an example of a biopic that she feels wasn't particularly true to the real-life events depicted in it. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, Michael is produced by Graham King, who also produced the aforementioned Queen biopic. Interestingly, King had specifically stated previously that Michael would not be "sanitized." Regardless, it seems as though Paris still took issue with its direction.
This is far from the only issue that Michael has seen during its development. Originally planned for release this October, the movie's release date has been pushed back to April 24, 2026. The reason for this, according to reports, is that the entire third act needed to be rewritten and reshot. This situation is reportedly due to the film dealing with allegations surrounding Jackson’s conduct with a 13-year-old boy. However, due to an agreement between the boy’s family and the Jackson estate, nothing that transpired can be dramatized.
No biopic is 100% true to life, but there are certainly varying degrees of “dramatic license.” Based on Paris Jackson’s claims, Michael isn't as accurate as it should. It may be fair to assume that when the film comes out next year, a lot of people will have a lot of opinions on that.
