The newly released Michael Jackson biopic is drawing widespread attention — and not all of it favorable. The film is facing significant backlash over what it omits: namely, the criminal accusations that shadowed the last two decades of Jackson’s life.
Titled “Michael,” the big-budget biopic — directed by Antoine Fuqua and released April 24 by Lionsgate — traces the King of Pop’s rise but ends its story in 1988, more than five years before the first major abuse allegation surfaced against him. The decision to cut the film’s timeline short was not entirely a creative one: The original cut included Jackson facing child sexual abuse allegations in the third act, but an additional 22 days of reshoots in June 2025 removed that material entirely, as The Hollywood Reporter notes.
It drew immediate criticism from journalists, advocates and accusers alike.
The film stars Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson in the lead role, while Colman Domingo plays the singer’s domineering father, Joe Jackson. It portrays Michael Jackson as a man-child who never fully grew up — a boy trapped in an adult’s body who sought refuge in fantasy and nostalgia to escape the trauma of his childhood. The film leans heavily on the singer’s music and includes a scene in which Jackson buys toys for sick children in a hospital. The implication is that Jackson’s relationships with children were innocent.
What the film does not address is the legal history that dominated his final decades. In 1993, Evan Chandler, a dentist and screenwriter based in Los Angeles, accused Jackson of sexually abusing his 13-year-old son, Jordan Chandler. Wikipedia Jackson denied the allegations. In January 1994, he settled the civil lawsuit for $23 million — an agreement that was not an admission of guilt. Wikipedia In 2003, Jackson was arrested on molestation charges involving a different accuser, Gavin Arvizo. He went to trial in 2005 and was acquitted on all counts. Wikipedia
According to Variety, an earlier version of the script opened in 1993 in the immediate aftermath of the first allegations, with Jackson staring at his reflection as police arrived at Neverland Ranch. That third act, which dealt with the impact of the abuse claims on his life, was scrapped after attorneys for Jackson’s estate discovered a clause in the Chandler family’s civil settlement that bars the depiction or mention of Jordan Chandler in any film.
As “Michael” rolled out its promotional campaign, the men who allege he abused them as boys remain locked in a legal battle. Wade Robson and James Safechuck, whose accusations against Jackson anchored the 2019 HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland,” are seeking $400 million in damages in a civil suit against Jackson’s companies. The trial is set for November 2026. Jackson’s estate has consistently denied the allegations.
On the day the biopic opened in theaters, Safechuck released a video statement through his attorney. “The ‘Michael’ movie’s coming out, and it’s getting a lot of promotion,” he said. “There [are] billboards and commercials and just people praising Michael, and it can be triggering for survivors who have their own Michael in their lives — whether it’s the priest who’s close to God or the sports coach who’s just helping the kids or the step-parent who’s supporting the family.”
The same day, four siblings made public the details of a lawsuit that added new accusers to the record. The complaint, filed Feb. 27 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, was brought by Edward, Dominic, Marie-Nicole and Aldo Cascio. It alleges trafficking, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud and breach of contract. The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
The Cascios spent decades as among Jackson’s most vocal defenders, describing themselves as his “second family.” As recently as December 2010, three of the siblings appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and denied any impropriety. Now they say that defense was a lie. “We were brainwashed, we were groomed,” Edward Cascio told The New York Times, adding that Jackson had taught him and his siblings to support him whenever abuse allegations arose.
Jackson’s estate called the lawsuit “a desperate money grab by additional members of the Cascio family who have hopped on the bandwagon.” Attorney Martin Singer, representing the estate, said the family “staunchly defended Michael Jackson for more than 25 years, attesting to his innocence of inappropriate conduct.” As “Michael” continues its theatrical run after grossing more than $217 million worldwide already, the accusers who say Jackson harmed them are still waiting for their day in court.