The Michael Jackson biopic is unexpectedly setting box offices alight, but behind the scenes, the controversial project has torn the famous family into two divided camps.
Insiders reveal, the late singer’s younger sister, Janet, flat-out refused to be involved in the film, and debate rages about its omission of Michael’s long history of sexual assault allegations.
“Janet saw an unfinished version and hated it,” a family insider says. “She thought parts of it felt inaccurate, overly sanitised and emotionally manipulative.”
On the flipside, 60-year-old Janet’s siblings La Toya, Jermaine and Jackie have wholeheartedly supported the project, and nephew Jaafar plays the King of Pop. At the LA premiere, La Toya, 69, quipped, “I wish everybody was in the movie.”
Despite abuse claims continuing to tarnish Michael’s legacy, the biopic was last week tracking as the second highest grossing musical biopic of all time. A source tells Woman’s Day, “It’s a tragedy but the Jackson family is more divided than ever.”
PARIS PROTESTS
Michael’s daughter Paris has been another vocal opponent, calling it a “sugar-coated” film that “panders to a very specific section of my dad’s fandom that still lives in a fantasy”.
The 28-year-old, who is locked in a battle with the Jackson estate, has made it clear she’s had no involvement with the project since reading the first draft. “There are a lot of full-blown lies,” says Paris, whose brothers Bigi and Prince are all for the film. “I just prefer honesty over sales.”
It seems Janet may have had similar feelings, as friends reveal there were “heated conversations” after she aired concerns about how the family was portrayed.
“Janet was especially upset about how certain family dynamics were presented,” the pal claims. “She wanted distance from the entire thing.”
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