The Michael Jackson biopic titled ‘Michael’ is ready to hit the big screens on Friday. Chronicling the making of the late legendary musical artist Michael Jackson, the biopic made headlines right from the word go, unfortunately, not always for the right reasons. For instance, recently, the movie found itself in hot water for claims of whitewashing child abuse allegations. According to many fan reactions and critics’ reviews of the movie, the biopic has been “whitewashed” to remove any mention of the allegations. Reacting to the said claims, co-stars Colman Domingo and Nia Long shared that the biopic only deals with things that led to the making of Michael Jackson, and not his later years.
Colman Domingo breaks the silence over ‘whitewashing’ of child abuse claims
“The film takes place from the ’60s to 1988. It does not go into the first allegations in 2005,” Domingo said on the “Today” show’s Wednesday episode. “So basically, we center it on the makings of Michael. It’s an intimate portrait of who Michael is …through his eyes,” he continued.Not just this, he further dropped a hint on a potential sequel, which “may deal with some things that happened afterward.”“That’s what this film — and there’s a possibility of it being a Part 2 that may deal with some other things that happened afterward. This is about the making of Michael, how he was raised, and then how he was trying to find his voice as an artist and be a solo artist,” quoted Colman Domingo, who is playing Michael’s father, Joseph Jackson, in the movie.However, it is worth noting that so far there are no confirmed details on the sequel, whether it will happen or not, and if it does, then what it will document. Reportedly, the movie was initially set to address the allegations, but was later re-shot and re-edited to exclude the scandalous details.
What Antoine Fuqua has to say about the child abuse claims
Amid all this, Antoine Fuqua also spoke about the claims. While speaking to the New Yorker, the filmmaker said that he is “not convinced that Jackson did what he is accused of doing.”“When I hear things about us — Black people in particular, especially in a certain position — there’s always a pause,” he added.Starring Jackson’s real-life nephew, Jaafar Jackson, in and as ‘Michael,’ the biopic is slated to release on April 24, 2026.
