‘It’s important that Michael’s voice is heard’: Jaafar Jackson says second biopic of his uncle will cover sexual abuse allegations
The star of Michael, the most commercially successful biopic of all time, has said sequel will give airtime to point-of-view of late singer Of all the criticisms levelled at the authorised biopic of Michael Jackson released earlier this year, the most persistent was that Antoine Fuqua’s film failed to mention the sexual abuse allegations against the singer. In part, this was due to a legal clause, only spotted late…
Key points
- Jaafar Jackson says the sequel to Michael will present the abuse allegations from his uncle's point of view.
- The first film omitted the allegations, partly because of a legal clause found late in production.
- Michael has overtaken Oppenheimer as the highest-grossing biopic of all time.
Jaafar Jackson, who plays his uncle Michael Jackson in the biopic Michael, has said a sequel will address the sexual abuse allegations against the singer. He told GQ Middle East that the second film would offer more of Michael Jackson's own perspective, describing the existing accounts as coming from other people.
The first film, directed by Antoine Fuqua, drew persistent criticism for not mentioning the allegations. According to the article, this was partly because of a legal clause found late in production barring depiction of one accuser, leading to a cut police raid scene at Neverland, $50m of reshoots funded by the Jackson family and an early ending.
Box office success drives sequel
The article reports that the strong commercial response to Michael, which recently overtook Oppenheimer as the highest-grossing biopic of all time, made a sequel inevitable. Jaafar Jackson told Variety that not everything shot for the first film made the final cut, saying he had heard similar stories from other actors.
It’s someone else’s story. It’s someone else’s idea of what it is
— Jaafar Jackson
Family voice and director's plans
Jaafar Jackson said the family's concern was that Michael Jackson's voice was not being heard, calling this "very, very important". He also said his uncle never lost his kindness or his wish to find good in people.
Fuqua has said the sequel will not sensationalise Jackson's life and will focus on who he was as a human being. The article notes Jackson was first accused of sexually assaulting a child in 1993 and settled out of court the following year, was tried and acquitted on other child sexual abuse charges in 2005, and died in 2009 aged 50. Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed criticised the first film, saying it offered no insight into Jackson.
