Michael Jackson’s new self-titled biopic enraged his sister, Janet, according to a report from TMZ.
Janet, 59, reportedly got into a phone argument with her brother Jermaine, 71, after Michael was screened for the Jackson family in Los Angeles.
Notably, Jermaine’s son, Jaafar, 29, portrays the king of pop in the film.
Janet is said to have been very critical of the film after the screening, while Jermaine “loudly applauded,” TMZ reported. Allegedly, she was the only Jackson to react negatively to the preview.
Her own boyfriend is said to have cheered and said," Now that’s a movie," after the film ended.
Though the film was backed by the Jackson family estate, Janet had no involvement and is not featured in the film. TMZ reports that she was offered a role in production, but declined to participate.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Janet Jackson’s representative for comment.
“Janet’s always been insanely jealous of Michael, and her career is in the toilet,” TMZ’s anonymous source said.
Born eight years after her popstar brother, Janet was not a member of the Jackson 5. Instead, she, too, launched a meteoric solo career that garnered her five Grammy Awards, an Oscar nomination, and 10 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Janet’s complaints do not stand alone as the film has been marred with controversy since its inception.
The director of Finding Neverland, a damning documentary of Michael’s sexual assault allegations, called the film “a complete whitewash” of the pop star’s life.
“It’s an out-and-out attempt to completely rewrite the allegations and dismiss them out of hand, and contains complete lies,” director Dan Reed told The Times of London in 2024.
The film’s production was reportedly thrown off course due to an unforeseen clause in the legal settlement of one of Michael’s accusers, Jordan Chandler. The settlement stated that Chandler, who was supposedly a key figure in the film, was not to be mentioned or dramatized in any film, resulting in massive reshoots.
Michael’s own daughter, Paris, 27, called the film’s script “dishonest” and “filled with inaccuracies.” She is no longer involved in the project.
“The thing about these biopics is, it’s Hollywood. It’s fantasyland. It’s not real. But it’s sold to you as real,” Paris said on Instagram. “The narrative is being controlled. And there’s a lot of inaccuracy and there’s a lot of just full-blown lies. At the end of the day, that doesn’t really fly with me.”
In Michael, Jaafar portrays the titular musician through his life from the Jackson 5 to one of the biggest solo careers in music history. The biopic with a reported budget of $155 million will be Jaafar’s first film role.
Michael is slated for an April 24 release.
