Jaafar Jackson, who plays Michael Jackson in the new biopic Michael about the embattled pop icon, dodged an opportunity to defend his uncle from abuse allegations on Monday.
The stars of the new film attended the film’s L.A. premiere on Monday, where Jaafar, 28, the son of Jackson’s brother, Jermaine Jackson, was asked by Extra what he thinks is the “biggest misconception” about his uncle.
Jackson was plagued by allegations of child sex abuse before his death in 2009, but was never convicted of wrongdoing. Instead of addressing that “misconception,” Jafaar Jackson told the outlet that the biggest misconception about the star was that he “wanted to be white.”
“That’s a big misconception, and this film gives you that understanding of what that is, that vitiligo played a part in his life,” Jafaar said. “And not a lot of people really understand what that is, and he was dealing with that from an early age.”
Jackson was diagnosed with vitiligo, a chronic autoimmune disorder that causes changes in skin pigmentation, in the 1980s. While some fans believed the star had bleached his skin, the brightening of his tone was reportedly due to his vitiligo treatment with Benoquin, which permanently lightens the skin to even out the contrast with the melanated patches.
The pop star’s autopsy report revealed that some parts of his body still had “patches of light and dark pigmented areas.” Fan perception that Jackson altered his skin color for aesthetic purposes was not the most controversial thing about the late star’s legacy, however, as Jafaar and the team behind Michael’s production are well aware.
Reportedly, Michael was going to address the allegations head-on from Jackson’s perspective until the film was reworked. The film was forced into reshoots last January after it included a depiction of Jordan Chandler, who accused Jackson of molestation in 1993 when he was 13 years old. Part of the settlement with Chandler’s family included a clause prohibiting any depiction of Chandler in any retellings of Jackson’s life, which the estate had overlooked.
According to Variety, more changes were made, including scrapping the movie’s entire third act, which had been devoted to Jackson’s perspective during the child sex abuse scandal. The pop star faced public allegations by five main accusers, with others arising from investigations and lawsuits.
Though the film was going to lean in hard on the allegations initially, even opening with Jackson’s character staring solemnly into a mirror as police lights flash behind him, and ending by depicting the fallout of the scandal, according to the site’s sources, all mentions of the ordeal were scrubbed for the final version.
One source who saw the finished film told Variety that it now concludes with a final scene showing Jackson at the height of his career, taking the stage to perform “Bad,” rather than at his lowest point.
The film hits theaters on April 24, and though fan excitement is brewing online, critics have been less enthusiastic. Michael debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a 27 percent score (now 33 percent as of Tuesday afternoon). The Daily Beast’s Nick Schager called the film “estate-authorized fluff.”
