Flex Alexander Says Michael Jackson Wasn’t Happy With That Terrible ‘Man in the Mirror’ Film, But Not Why You Think
The 2004 Michael Jackson flick was poorly received by pretty much everyone, including the man himself. But star Flex Alexander just revealed the real reason MJ hated the film.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 24: Flex Alexander is interviewed for an episode of “We Playin’ Spades” with Nick Cannon and Courtney Bee- Season 3 podcast on July 24, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Unique Nicole/Getty Images)
The hoopla surrounding the upcoming Michael Jackson movie has brought the memory of an earlier, much maligned MJ film that starred Flex Alexander, “Man in the Mirror,” to mind. The comedian/actor recently appeared on “The Art of Dialogue” podcast to discuss landing the role of the legendary singer, Jackson’s reaction to his portrayal, and why the singer was upset about the movie’s portrayal of him.
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Alexander was a dancer, turned comedian, turned actor who portrayed the “Thriller” singer in the 2004 biopic. When he was approached about the role, he thought the film would be in the vein of the upcoming “Michael,” directed by Antoine Fuqua and set for release on April 24, 2026. However, the movie bombed, and that stain stayed on Flex for many years.
The movie did not get great reviews for many reasons, including the fact that Flex is dark-skinned and 6-foot-3, while Michael Jackson had very light skin and stood at 5-foot-9. Not surprisingly, MJ, who was still alive when the film was released, did not like the movie. But, surprisingly, Flex stated that it wasn’t because of his acting or anything like that. It was due to the film covering the allegations leveled at the singer about his alleged conduct around young children.
“He was upset, but he never said anything, you know, about me or my performance. He never… It was the allegations and the stuff that was going on at the time that he was upset. He’s like ‘Why do we have to keep talking about this?
“And what the producers did, they just went from court documents and kind of wrote around that. So they never tried to paint him out, you know, awful or nothing. You know the last scene is me standing on top of the SUV when he’s acquitted. Um, so uh, that wasn’t their, um, intention.”
Flex, being the good sport that he is, filmed a skit that poked fun at his role in the movie.
