Any King of Pop completist or glutton for punishment seeking to fact-check the megabudget Michael Jackson biopic Michael (in theaters now) will certainly have their work cut out for them. In the $200 million movie’s telling, Jackson almost single-handedly brokered peace between the Los Angeles street gangs the Crips and the Bloods (who apparently united behind his dazzling gyrations on the set of the music video for “Beat It”). The singer’s future-superstar younger sister Janet Jackson, meanwhile, was completely absent from family life in the Jackson clan’s shared Encino mansion. And while there are multiple sequences showcasing Michael (played by his real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson) frolicking with his beloved chimpanzee Bubbles, the allegations of pedophilia against MJ are never once mentioned.
Perhaps the most unexpected critic of Michael’s recounting of events is Jackson’s own daughter, Paris Jackson. On social media last year, the 28-year-old singer-songwriter-actress-model called the biographical drama “dishonest” and plagued with “inaccuracy” as well as “just full-blown lies.” “A big section of the film panders to a very specific section of my dad’s fandom that still lives in fantasy, and they’re gonna be happy with it,” Paris wrote. Moreover, in a lawsuit filed last month, she accused the executors of the Jackson estate, John Branca and John McClain, of financial mismanagement, self-dealing, and excessive fees. She put Branca — also an executive producer on Michael — on blast for hiring Miles Teller (“the sole A-list cast member in the production”) to portray a younger version of himself. “Undoubtedly, Mr. Branca considers his story to be central to the Michael Jackson story,” the complaint says. “Nonetheless, it is unclear how this peculiar and presumably costly casting decision will result in commensurate box office receipts.”
