Michael Jackson’s nephew said the follow-up to the record-breaking biopic Michael will address the family’s “issue” with how the pop star has been portrayed.
On Thursday, Jafaar Jackson, who plays his famous uncle in the film and its sequel, cast doubt on the allegations of child sex abuse that plagued the music legend’s legacy until his death in 2009.
Addressing what audiences should expect for the second film, Jackson told GQ on Thursday that it will give “even more insight from his point of view, because at the end of the day, [the allegations] are always from someone else’s.”
Those points of view include the testimonies of nine individuals who have made formal allegations of abuse against the late star, stemming from events they alleged to have occurred between the ages of 7 and 13. Two of the accusers, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who alleged sex abuse by Jackson between the ages of seven and 10, respectively, told their story in the damning 2019 HBO documentary series, Leaving Neverland. Jackson was never convicted of any crimes.
The singer’s family has been adamant that all of the allegations were financially motivated.
Michael takes place before the first public allegations, between 1966 and 1988. Jackson was first accused of abuse by the father of 13-year-old Jordan Chandler in 1993. That fact has saved the film’s cast from some uncomfortable questions about its “whitewashing” during the press tour.
Jafaar lumped the allegations together on Thursday. “It’s someone else’s story. It’s someone else’s idea of what it is, and it’s mainly driven by an agenda,” he insisted. “And that’s really the issue we’ve been having as a family—not having Michael’s voice being heard. I think that’s very, very important, especially in the late years.” The next film is expected to pick up in 1988 and continue through Jackson’s final years.
Initial reports said Michael originally set out to tackle the allegations against the star in the first film, but hit a legal snag when a clause agreed to in Jackson’s settlement with Chandler’s family required the production to nix any mention of Jordan, who was nearly portrayed in the film. The mix-up cost millions in reshoots and retooling until the allegations were completely removed from the story.
Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chairman Adam Fogelson told Variety that the sequel “could use” some of the material that was filmed for the first film. “We do have a number of sequences, particularly some big musical sequences, that were shot previously, that are almost sure to be incorporated,” he said.
Jafaar has been careful not to wade into the discourse about the allegations against his uncle, like when he swerved a question on the “biggest misconception” about the icon in April. Sidestepping the allegations, he told Extra that the biggest controversy was that the star “wanted to be white.”
Michael grossed over $1 billion globally. The sequel is expected to hit theaters in late 2027.
