Janet Jackson Reportedly ‘Hated’ Michael Movie as Source Reveals the Real Reason She Wasn’t In It—She’s ‘Upset’
To say the new Michel Jackson movie has been divisive is putting it lightly. Critics have almost universally criticized the movie as fluff and pointed out that it fails to engage with any criticism of the pop star in a constructive manner. Fans, however, have responded very positively, with the movie doing very good numbers at the box office.
Reaction from the Jackson family has also been pretty mixed, with some of them backing the movie completely and others, like Jackson’s daughter Paris, being very critical of the portrayal. But what about Janet Jackson?
Hollywood insider Rob Shuter is reporting that Janet has not yet watched the finished version of the biopic, and that’s intentional. Janet reportedly attended an early private screening of the rough cut of the film and walked away pretty unhappy. After that, she decided to distance herself from the movie, meaning no participation in any way and no making money off it.
“Janet saw an unfinished version and hated it,” one insider said. “She thought parts of it felt inaccurate, overly sanitized, and emotionally manipulative.”
Michael Jackson’s sister reportedly had issues with the portrayal of the Jackson family and even some of the performances. Ouch.
“There were heated conversations behind the scenes,” a source added. “Janet was especially upset about how certain family dynamics were presented. She made it clear she wanted distance from the entire thing.”
If anyone would know, it’s Janet, one would think. But then again, some of her siblings did participate in the movie. Janet is one of three Jackson siblings who weren’t involved. So it’s confusing, to say the least.
And since Janet refused to allow her likeness to be used in the movie, she does not appear as a character in the biopic at all. Yes, it’s a Michael Jackson movie without Janet Jackson.
Director Antoine Fuqua made it clear, though, that Janet’s issue wasn’t with her nephew Jaafar Jackson, who stars as Michael. There’s family drama, but apparently not this level of family drama. “Her issue was never Jaafar,” one source said. “Her issue was the movie itself.”
Whether that’s better or worse remains to be seen. Jaafar Jackson has gotten mixed reviews for his portrayal of his uncle, with some lauding his likeness and the way he embodied Michael Jackson, and some saying he brought nothing new to the portrayal, and the entire biopic felt like watching a documentary.
Reportedly, Janet Jackson was also not interested in reopening emotional wounds that had already been closed by reexamining her brother’s life and legacy. “She’s spent years protecting her peace,” an insider explained. “Janet simply did not want to become part of another Jackson family media storm.”
Of course, the problem is that by distancing herself to the point that she didn’t even appear as a character in the movie, she effectively became part of the media storm as people brought her absence up over and over again. And though it probably wasn’t her intention, it might have even helped the movie’s bottom line in the long run.
