Beat it: Michael Jackson’s nephews defend biopic amid scathing reviews
The new Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, has received a tsunami of poor reviews, much to the dismay of his nephews, who are the latest to defend the Antoine Fuqua-directed picture.
Jackson’s estate financially invested in the new movie, which was released on April 22nd. His nephew, Jaafar Jackson, also plays the titular character, marking this film an illustrious family affair.
Now, after a lacklustre critical reception, his other nephews have spoken out in support of the endeavour.
“I’m going to the theatre in a few hours to see a movie I’ve seen several times. Why? Because I’m proud,” said TJ Jackson, son of The Jackson 5 member Tito Jackson.
He added pointedly, “I wouldn’t miss this opportunity to be masked in the electrifying energy that will be in that theater for nothing. My uncle deserves this, my cousin earned this and his loyal supporters are owed this. The world will be reminded or learn who MJ truly was and I can’t wait!”
His brother, Taj Jackson, had a sterner approach. “Sorry media, you don’t get to control the narrative anymore of who Michael Jackson truly was,” he also wrote on X.
He added, “The public gets to watch this movie…they will decide for themselves. And you can’t handle that.”
Despite the loyal display from his nephews, not all of the King of Pop’s family are on board with the project.
Jackson’s daughter Paris previously heavily criticised the biopic, directed by Antoine Fuqua, for having “a lot of inaccuracies” and “full-blown lies”. She was not involved in the making of the film.
Additionally, his older sister LaToya Jackson recently revealed the reason that Janet Jackson doesn’t appear in the film is that “she was asked and she kindly declined so you have to respect her wishes.”
Poor critical reviews seemed almost inevitable after the project was mired in controversy due to the production spending $15 million to reshoot and remove the depictions of child abuse that Jackson allegedly perpetrated from the end of the film.
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