Paris Jackson rebuffed Colman Domingo for calling her “helpful” during the production of Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic, saying instead that her notes were ignored and that the film about her father is filled with inaccuracies and “just full-blown lies.”
Across several posts on Instagram Stories, Paris distanced herself from the biopic, the first part of which is set to arrive in April 2026 (no release date has been announced yet for the second part). Paris said she “read one of the first drafts of the scripts and gave my notes about what was dishonest/didn’t sit right with me, and when they didn’t address it I moved on with my life. Not my monkeys, not my circus.”
Paris felt compelled to speak out on the film after Domingo — who plays controversial Jackson family patriarch Joe — made some innocuous-seeming remarks about her involvement with Michael at a benefit gala during the Venice Film Festival. Domingo thanked Paris and her brother, Prince, for their guidance, saying, “They’re very much in support of our film,” and that Paris had been “very helpful” during the production. (Paris was also attending the event.)
After Domingo’s comments got picked up, Paris responded to him directly on IG Stories: “Don’t be telling people I was ‘helpful’ on the set of a movie I had 0% involvement in lol that is so weird.” (A rep for Domingo did not immediately return a request for comment.)
But Paris focused her dissatisfaction primarily on the film itself. She said after her script notes were ignored, she decided to leave the film “alone, because it’s not my project.” Of the film’s veracity, she seemed to directly address her dad’s fans, pointedly adding: “A big reason why I haven’t said anything up until this point is because I know a lot of you are going to be happy with [the movie]. Like, a big section — the film panders to a very specific section of my dad’s fandom that still lives in the fantasy. And they’re going to be happy with it.”
Mentioning other major biopics like the Queen/Freddie Mercury film Bohemian Rhapsody and the Mötley Crüe adaptation of The Dirt, Paris said, “The thing about these biopics is, it’s Hollywood. It’s fantasyland. It’s not real. But it’s sold to you as real.”
She suggested the same thing was happening on Michael: “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. I don’t really like dishonesty. I spoke up, I wasn’t heard, I fucked off. Y’all are gonna like the fucking movie. So just, go watch it, go enjoy it, do whatever, leave me out of it.”
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Paris did not offer any specific examples of what she felt was wrong with the film or its portrayal of her father. A representative for Lionsgate, the film’s production company, also did not immediately return a request for comment. And despite Paris’ qualms with the film, Michael does otherwise have the backing of the Jackson estate.
Michael has faced numerous delays and controversy over the course of its beleaguered production. Filming initially wrapped in May 2024, but its original April 2025 release date was pushed until October 2025 after 22 days of reshoots were required. After that date came and went, the latest April 2026 release was announced earlier this summer.
According to reports, the reshoots centered on the film’s third act, which was set to delve into the child molestation accusations against Jackson. But Michael reportedly violated a legal agreement between representatives for Jackson and then-13-year-old Jordan Chandler, who accused Jackson of molestation in 1993 and later received a $20 million settlement. That agreement also stipulated that Chandler’s story and personhood could not be dramatized in a film about Jackson.
As it stands, the first half of Michael is set to focus on the early days of Jackson’s career, from his time in the Jackson 5 to his decision to go solo after releasing Off the Wall in 1979. The second film would cover the rest of the King of Pop’s career, though its third act would likely sidestep the accusations Jackson faced.
Michael is set to star Jackson’s own nephew, Jaafar Jackson, in the lead role. Along with Domingo as Joe Jackson, the cast includes Larenz Tate as Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, Laura Harrier as music executive Suzanne de Passe, and Kat Graham as Diana Ross.
From Rolling Stone US
