Why the Michael Jackson movie won’t sway fans opinions

Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAYSat, April 25, 2026 at 10:03 AM UTC

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The Michael Jackson portrayed in the new biopic “Michael” is a saintly musical genius.

He’s a precocious superstar both fueled and terrified by the harsh criticisms of his megalomaniac father, Joseph.

He’s a visionary who possessed more talent than he knew what to do with sometimes, but managed to channel it into everlasting art in the forms of albums “Off the Wall,” “Bad” and the biggest-selling recording of all time, “Thriller.”

That Michael – the eternal Peter Pan with the glistening voice and head-spinning dance moves, the animal lover who claimed his only friends were his pets, the philanthropist who comforted young burn victims at their bedside – is what “Michael” showcases.

By ending the film circa 1987 during his then-record-breaking “Bad” tour, producers ensured that viewers experience a haloed version of Jackson. Not even an epilogue card acknowledges the child sexual abuse charges brought against him in the ensuing years, nor is his 2009 death from an overdose of painkillers and sedatives.

The film was reportedly set to address the sexual abuse allegations until attorneys for Jackson's estate discovered a clause in the legal settlement with Jordan Chandler, the then-13-year-old at the center of the 1993 lawsuit. The clause prevented any mention or depiction of him in any movie.

According to Variety, "much of its third act [was] devoted to the scandal. But that finale was scrapped, along with any mention of the child molestation accusations," according to sources close to the film. The outlet was also told that in the original script, there was a scene of investigators searching Jackson's Neverland Ranch estate for evidence.

The changes necessitated reshoots last year, which bumped the original release date of "Michael" from April 2025 to October 2025 and then until this spring.

Michael Jackson during a performance on the second show of his "History Tour" in South Africa at Johannesburg Stadium.Why we should 'return to the magic' of Michael Jackson

Will any of this matter to his devotees?

Probably not, considering they’ve sustained Jackson’s status as the highest-earning dead celebrity on Forbes' annual ranking for 13 of the 16 years since he died at age 50. Jackson topped the Forbes 2025 list with $105 million in earnings, propelled by the success of Cirque du Soleil’s 13-years-and-running “Michael Jackson ONE” show in Las Vegas and Broadway’s “MJ: The Musical,” which has earned almost $300 million in ticket sales since debuting in 2022 and expanding to touring versions worldwide.

Jackson historian and author of “Michael Jackson – The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story,” J. Randy Taraborrelli, is among those who agree with “Michael” ending without delving into the allegations that hovered over him since the first claims in 1993.

“I think it’s a good idea for us to return to the magic of Michael Jackson, which was so obscured by all of the allegations and unfairly so,” Taraborrelli says. “I covered the (2005 molestation trial) and sat there every day behind Michael for a year and a half. I felt like the whole thing was such a bogus case and he had been so unfairly targeted. To portray that in a movie means you’re hoping the public interprets it the way you want – and that’s never going to happen so why go there?”

The 1993 investigation yielded an out of court civil suit settlement for $23 million, while the 2005 criminal trial ended with Jackson acquitted of all 14 charges relating to child sexual abuse.

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Author and scholar Joe Vogel, who wrote “Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson,” spent years researching the 2011 book, which he in 2019.

To him, the Jackson accusations are just that.

“These allegations are fundamentally different than other high-profile cases. When you think of Diddy or (Bill) Cosby or (Jeffrey) Epstein, there was an avalanche of evidence. With Michael, it was way more complicated,” Vogel says.

He adds that in reporting for his book, he spoke to an assortment of people in Jackson’s orbit – producers, security guards, nannies, family members – and “without fail, everyone defended Michael. And that means something.”

1 / 0Revisiting Michael Jackson's life and legacy in photos

Jackson performs an open-air concert in West Berlin on June 19, 1988.

Michael Jackson's complicated history won't taint box office

Even prior to the abuse claims against Jackson, the singer was condemned in the tabloids and court of public opinion for being different because of his physical appearance, his peculiar lifestyle such as sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber and a gentleness that extended to animals and children.

One aspect of Jackson’s personality that is implied in “Michael” is that his stunted emotional growth – a result, it is inferred, of his father’s abuse – is the rationale for his kinship with children.

Taraborrelli knew Jackson since they were teenagers and says it’s frustrating when his reasoned defense of the superstar is dismissed by Jackson’s detractors. It's another reason he agrees with keeping “Michael” focused on the legend.

“The public’s interpretation was going to be hard to control. It would totally obscure the genius that was Michael Jackson,” Taraborrelli says.

Michael Jackson performs at the taping of "American Bandstands 50th...A Celebration" television special honoring the music show April 20, 2002 in Pasadena, California.

Neither Vogel nor Taraborrelli believe that the shadow over Jackson’s legacy will curtail an expected boffo box office. Worldwide opening weekend projections for the film are in the $150 million range.

“In the immediate aftermath of (the 2019 HBO documentary) ‘Leaving Neverland,’ there were some question marks, but it was also the peak of cancel culture,” Vogel says. “Once people started to scrutinize the allegations more closely, they became (more skeptical), like, OK, this guy has been dead for a long time. I mean, there’s still controversy surrounding Alfred Hitchcock and people still watch his movies.”

Jackson critics will undoubtedly stand firm in their dismissal of his legacy. But Taraborrelli believes that revisiting a moment in time when Jackson and his music became a cultural phenomenon, as well as enlightening new generations to his otherworldliness as an entertainer, should be a reason for unity.

“We need this kind of movie more than ever right now,” he says. “The country is so damaged and we’re in such despair and there is so much anger on both sides that any time you get something that can bring people together, that’s a huge plus. And who better to give it to us than Michael Jackson?”

Contributing: Patrick Ryan

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will the Michael Jackson movie change anyone's mind about him? Not really

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”