Michael, the biopic dramatizing the rise to fame of the King of Pop, released April 24, 2026, starred Michael Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson in his feature debut. Made on a reported budget of around $165-$200 million, the film has grossed over $800 million at the worldwide box office, making it the second highest-grossing music biopic of all time as of May 31, 2026 [1]. Starting from Michael’s early career as a child star with the Jackson 5, and ending with the King of Pop performing at Wembley Stadium in 1988 during his iconic Bad Tour, this story showcased to a new generation why Michael remains on everyone’s top five greatest musicians of all time list.
The film was originally cut at four hours before director Antoine Fuqua worked with editors to bring it down to just over two hours, using Michael’s most iconic musical milestones as timeline anchors [2]. Throughout the making of this story, the production team ran into countless issues, including a lawsuit regarding a settlement clause with one of Michael’s former accusers that barred his depiction or mention in any film about the singer [3]. Many prominent figures did not want to be depicted in the film and had to be cut out. The cast spent 22 days reshooting an entirely new ending, adding an estimated $10–15 million on top of the original $155 million budget, leaving roughly two hours of unusable footage in the editing room [4].
The Family Problem
For a film that is supposed to be an intimate view into the life of Michael Jackson, it fails at capturing his actual family. Randy Jackson, Michael’s youngest brother, was left out because he denied his likeness being used in the film [5]. Randy actually became the sixth Jackson member and was even on stage with the band during the Victory Tour’s ending when Michael announced the band’s disbanding! The movie removed him entirely and kept the original 5 brothers for the whole film.
Rebbie Jackson, the eldest child in the Jackson family, chose not to be in the movie and made no public statement as to why [5].
Janet Jackson, Michael’s youngest sibling, is also nowhere to be seen. She had a successful solo career appearing in TV shows and is one of the best-selling music artists of all time with over 100 million records sold. Unlike the Jackson 5, she had an independent career managed by Joe Jackson. It is stated that she was not happy with the movie and had issues with many of the scenes [6].
With these siblings not included, a lot of Michael’s home life was inaccurate at best, and fictional at worst.
Childhood Beatings
The movie portrayed some of Joe Jackson’s violent behaviours early on in the film, beating Michael with a belt when he missed a beat or said he did not want to practice. Joe’s cruelty extended to all the children in the family, with Michael stating he was traumatized by Joe. During an interview with Oprah, Michael talked about Joe rehearsing with the Jackson 5 and having his belt with him, beating any of the brothers who did not do it right. It was so traumatizing for Michael that just Joe’s presence was enough to make him feel sick [7]. Joe continued this method of control well into the children’s adult lives, but this was never shown on screen. The movie even goes as far as having a scene where Michael’s mother talks Joe down from giving him a beating when Michael was a young teen. Despite this, many content creators and viewers believe Joe’s abusiveness is what made the Jackson 5 and Michael’s career [8]. The truth is that by the time Michael signed with Motown Records, his genius was already undeniable, and it was Berry Gordy who took more responsibility for growing Michael’s career. Michael did not become the King of Pop because of Joe Jackson, but rather despite him.
Dirty Diana (Allegedly)
Another significant figure in establishing Michael’s career was Diana Ross. Michael joined Motown in 1969 when he was 11 years old. Ross, then 25 and Motown’s biggest star as lead singer of The Supremes, was infatuated with Michael. So much so that she insisted he be cast in the movie The Wiz. It was on the set of The Wiz that he first met producer Quincy Jones, the producer who would go on to produce Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad, transforming Michael Jackson from child star into the biggest entertainer on the planet [9].
But Michael and Diana’s relationship doesn’t end there. Michael proposed to Diana in 1981 despite their 15-year age gap; she accepted, but the two never married [9]. In his 1988 autobiography Moonwalk, Michael went further, writing that he had always loved Diana and always would [10]. Interestingly, the song “Dirty Diana,” released that same year, centered around obsessive love, betrayal, and a woman who pulls men in and destroys them. Though no one has ever officially confirmed the song was about Diana Ross, it is speculated that it was.
Despite this deep history between the two of them being central to the plotline of Michael being hurt by love and feeling lonely, all of Diana Ross’s scenes, played by actress Kat Graham, were cut from the final production. The production cited legal concerns with mentioning Diana Ross in the movie despite having filmed many of her scenes [11]. The result is a film that loosely connects Michael to Quincy Jones through The Wiz without ever explaining that it was Diana Ross who put him in that room, and never explains the emotional turmoil of Michael’s young adulthood.
Manufactured Man?
Parenting issues are a constant recurring theme in Michael’s story. From a young age, Joe Jackson mocked Michael by calling him “big nose”, nurturing severe body dysmorphia that would consume Michael for the rest of his life. This is loosely shown once in the movie but not brought up again. However, cosmetic surgery did not start out of insecurity for Michael Jackson. In 1979, after a dancing accident, Michael Jackson broke his nose, medically requiring his first rhinoplasty. Then in 1981, he went back, stating this surgery was to correct breathing issues, but also resulted in a smaller nose [12]. While the reasoning for his 1981 surgery may be true, many speculate it was for more cosmetic reasons [13].
Many people know that Michael suffered from vitiligo, a skin condition where the body stops producing melanin, resulting in uneven patches of lost pigmentation [14]. The condition left Michael deeply insecure, and rather than go public with his diagnosis, he began quietly covering the first visible signs on his left hand with a glove. His vitiligo is said to have begun in the early 1980s, and by 1983 he had debuted his now iconic rhinestone glove at the Motown 25 special; the same night the moonwalk was first performed. Both the glove and the dance became forever cemented in pop culture [15].
The movie, however, changes the history of Michael’s medical records. The movie shows him dealing with both his vitiligo diagnosis and his rhinoplasty in the same scene, immediately after adopting Bubbles, his chimpanzee. Michael did not get Bubbles until 1983, when Bubbles was born, and at which point he had already had both his nose surgeries [16]. By compressing these events into a single scene, the film inadvertently rewrites the very narrative that fueled decades of public speculation about Michael being a plastic surgery addict and skin bleacher.
The Verdict
The film may have gotten the timeline wrong, left out three of his siblings, erased the woman who launched his career, and glossed over the complicated truth of who Michael Jackson really was. The movie did an amazing job of capturing the true highs of Michael’s illustrious career, but failed at accurately representing the darker lows of his life. This article only covers issues from Michael’s birth to the end of the movie in 1984/1988; therefore, the creators of this movie still have a chance to correct the latter portion of Michael’s life in the second movie announced at the end credits!
All things considered, what no one can deny is the impact Michael has had in reinvigorating the world’s love for his music and creativity. As of June 2026, Michael Jackson holds four songs on Billboard’s Hot 100, occupies the top two spots on the Top R&B Albums chart, and dominates positions three through five on the Hot R&B Songs chart, with more records to come [17, 18]. As the saying goes, Michael Jackson has fans who aren’t even born yet.
Bibliography:
[1] IMDbPro, “Michael,” Box Office Mojo, https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt11378946/ (accessed Jun. 5, 2026).
[2] J. Dodge and L. Crowley, “Michael director addresses original 4-Hour Cut & Changes from ‘The best editors in the world,’” ScreenRant, https://screenrant.com/michael-4-hour-cut-editing-antoine-fuqua-response/ (accessed Jun. 5, 2026).
[3] B. Lang, “Inside the ‘michael’ overhaul: $15 million reshoots, removing child abuse allegations and what’s in store for sequels,” Variety, https://variety.com/2026/film/news/michael-movie-reshoots-removing-child-abuse-allegations-1236710221/ (accessed Jun. 5, 2026).
[4] “Why the michael jackson movie doesn’t cover sexual-abuse allegations,” Yahoo!, https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/why-michael-jackson-movie-doesn-130000765.html (accessed Jun. 5, 2026).
[5] A. M. Eclarinal, “Michael Movie: All 6 people & jackson family members who refused to be involved,” The Direct, https://thedirect.com/article/michael-movie-jackson-family-refused-involved (accessed Jun. 5, 2026).
[6] M. Mercuri, “Why is Janet Jackson missing from the ‘Michael’ biopic? the reason she was left out,” Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/monicamercuri/2026/04/24/janet-jackson-is-missing-from-michael-biopic-why-she-doesnt-appear-at-all/ (accessed Jun. 5, 2026).
[7] the detail., “Michael Jackson EXPOSES His Father’s Horrific Abuse & A Childhood Stolen | the detail.,” YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKkl0DpWIUc (accessed Jun. 5, 2026).
[8] masterp, “Master P on Instagram: ‘The jacksons dad was tuff and had his faults but pushed his kids to be great! rip to the legend, MJ the most talented and biggest super star in the world he’s was the greatest,’” Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/reels/DYGg1jxBB3j/ (accessed Jun. 5, 2026).
[9] J. Anthony, Michael Jackson’s troubling bond with Diana Ross that inspired hits | daily nation, https://nation.africa/kenya/news/gender/michael-jackson-s-troubling-bond-with-diana-ross-that-inspired-hits-5269164 (accessed Jun. 6, 2026).
[10] M. Jackson, Moonwalk. New York: Crown Publishing Group, 1988.
[11] T. Staff, “Kat Graham says her ‘Michael’ scenes were among those cut for legal reasons,” TMZ, https://www.tmz.com/2026/04/23/kat-graham-as-diana-ross-cut-from-michael-biopic/ (accessed Jun. 5, 2026).
[12] T. Reporter, “Michael Jackson ‘rebuilt his nose to ease breathing problems,’” The New Times, https://www.newtimes.co.rw/article/22358/michael-jackson-arebuilt-his-nose-to-ease-breathing-problemsa (accessed Jun. 5, 2026).
[13] W. byBahadır K. M. D. B. Kaynarkaya, W. by, and B. K. M.D., “Why did Michael Jackson have plastic surgery?,” Acibadem Healthcare Group, https://acibademinternational.com/why-did-michael-jackson-have-plastic-surgery/ (accessed Jun. 5, 2026).
[14] Mayo Clinic Staff, “Vitiligo,” Mayo Clinic, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/vitiligo/symptoms-causes/syc-20355912 (accessed Jun. 5, 2026).
[15] “Michael Jackson & The Jacksons – Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (March 25, 1983),” YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYQ53O_l7Ts (accessed Jun. 5, 2026).
[16] “Bubbles,” Center for Great Apes, https://centerforgreatapes.org/chimpanzee/bubbles/ (accessed Jun. 5, 2026).
[17] R. Cabison, “Billboard 200TM,” Billboard, https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/ (accessed Jun. 5, 2026).
[18] “R&B/hip-hop,” Billboard, https://www.billboard.com/charts/genre/rb-hip-hop/ (accessed Jun. 5, 2026).
Leave a Reply