Michael Jackson biopic sequel to address abuse allegations, says star

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 20 Oct, 16:44 · Archive

Jaafar Jackson says a planned sequel to the Michael Jackson biopic will address sexual abuse allegations against the singer from his point of view.

The Michael Jackson biopic, released earlier this year, became the most commercially successful biopic of all time but drew criticism for failing to address the sexual abuse allegations against the singer. A legal clause in a settlement between Jackson and one of his accusers, discovered late in production, stipulated that the accuser could never be depicted in a fictionalised account. This forced director Antoine Fuqua to cut a planned sequence involving a police raid at Jackson's Neverland ranch and reshaped the narrative.

The production reshoot cost $50m and was funded by the Jackson family. Jaafar Jackson, who made his screen debut playing his uncle, acknowledged that material shot for films often does not reach the final cut, and said this was normal in editing. However, speaking to GQ Middle East, he suggested the inevitable sequel would take a different approach to the controversies.

"I think the second film will give even more insight from [Michael Jackson's] point of view, because at the end of the day, [the allegations] are always from someone else's [point of view]," Jackson said. He indicated the sequel would tell the allegations as "someone else's story", presenting Jackson's perspective on them rather than the accusers'.

How it is being reported

• ‘It’s important that Michael’s voice is heard’: Jaafar Jackson says second biopic of his uncle will cover sexual abuse allegationsThe 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 in production, which stipulated that one of the men who accused Jackson of abusing them as a boy could never be depicted in a fictionalised account of the period. Continue…The Guardian · 20 Oct, 16:15
• Michael Star Jaafar Jackson Addresses Axed Scenes Depicting Allegations Against SingerMichael star Jaafar Jackson has opened up about the film’s scrapped third act. Jaafar made his big-screen debut in the recent biopic about his late uncle Michael Jackson , which was panned by critics but made more than a billion dollars at the global box office . A sticking point for many critics was the fact that the movie didn’t include the many controversies surrounding the musician in his lifetime, most notably the allegations of child sexual abuse that were levelled against him . Jaafar Jackson in character as Michael Jackson in the musical biopic Michael In fact, the movie’s original…HuffPost UK · 20 Oct, 13:17

In this story: Jaafar Jackson · Michael Jackson · Antoine Fuqua · Neverland · Jackson family

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