Michael Jackson Biopic Movie: Controversy Explained

by Natasha JokicBuzzFeedBuzzFeed StaffI'm a Senior Staff Writer at BuzzFeed covering pop culture, entertainment, and politics.

Table of Contents

- Jackson was accused of abuse by numerous boys

- The original script did not depict the accusers positively

- The movie had to have reshoots worth $15 million

- The director has expressed skepticism over the allegations

- Janet Jackson isn't in it

- Paris Jackson has criticized the movie

- The reviews have largely been terrible

Warning: Discussion of child abuse.

Michael, the new movie starring Michael Jackson's nephew, Jaafar Jackson, in the titular role, has been met with some backlash since its announcement. Perhaps that's not surprising.

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So, here's everything you need to know about the controversy behind the biopic:

Jackson was accused of abuse by numerous boys

There's no way around it: Jackson has been accused numerous times of sexually abusing children. He always maintained his innocence, but likely any biopic — especially one made in close partnership with his estate — was going to be accused of trying to rehabilitate the late singer's image.

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The director of the disturbing documentary Leaving Neverland, which shocked 2019 audiences with its subjects' detailed allegations against Jackson, wrote a piece for the Guardian lambasting Michael after the movie was announced in 2023. Its headline was clear on the author's stance: "This new Michael Jackson biopic will glorify a man who abused children."

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Incidentally, if you did want to watch Leaving Neverland now, you likely can't. It's been removed from HBO Max after Jackson's estate sued the network for $100 million, alleging that it had broken a 1992 non-disparagement clause that was made to air one of Jackson's concert movies.

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The original script did not depict the accusers positively

In March 2024, journalist Matthew Belloni for Puck purported to have looked at the script for the upcoming movie. He claimed that the movie was supposed to open with the police arriving at Neverland in the 1993 investigation into molestation claims made by 13-year-old Jordan Chandler.

Universal Pictures

"The script then goes to great lengths to minimize and downplay the actual claims and eviscerate the Chandlers," the article claims, with Miles Teller's depiction of lawyer John Branca set to call the allegations "extortion" and suggests it's a result of "greedy" parents. Puck adds that the message of the film seems to be that "Michael was the actual victim here."

Universal Pictures

The movie had to have reshoots worth $15 million

Variety reported in April 2026 that the final third of the movie was largely supposed to be dedicated to the child abuse allegations. However, that isn't what's in the actual film. That's because attorneys for Jackson's estate reportedly only realized that there was a clause in a settlement made with the accuser, Jordan Chandler, that prohibited any depiction of him in any movie.

Universal Pictures

Instead, through reshoots and edits, Variety reported that the movie would end with Jackson at his peak. "The movie leans heavily into Jackson’s music, featuring one showstopper after another, and away from his sometimes bizarre personal behavior," the publication notes, claiming that tension instead came from the domineering role of Joe Jackson.

Universal Pictures

The director has expressed skepticism over the allegations

Perhaps unsurprisingly, director Antoine Fuqua has questioned the allegations made against Jackson, telling the New Yorker, "Sometimes people do some nasty things for some money.”

Kevin Mazur / Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Lionsgate

Janet Jackson isn't in it

Notably absent from the movie is Michael's sister and artist in her own right, Janet Jackson. Now, TMZ reported in March that Janet was critical of the movie due to her jealousy of Michael (though it's worth taking that with a grain of salt).

KMazur / WireImage

La Toya addressed Janet's absence at the movie's Hollywood premiere: "I wish everybody was in the movie... She was asked and she kindly declined so you have to respect her wishes.”

Savion Washington / Getty Images for Lionsgate

Paris Jackson has criticized the movie

Another Jackson family member who isn't involved with the movie is Paris, Michael's daughter with Debbie Rowe. Last September, after Colman Domingo claimed she was "very much in support of our film," she wrote on her Instagram story, "don't be telling people i was 'helpful' on the set of a movie i had 0% involvement in lol that is so weird."

Charley Gallay / Getty Images

"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," she continued, adding in a video, "I know a lot of you guys are gonna be happy with it. A big section of the film panders to a very specific section of