The new Michael Jackson movie is on its way to audiences, and it can’t come fast enough. The biopic explores the iconic artist’s life and career from his time with the Jackson 5 to his early days as a solo artist and includes appearances from his parents and many of his siblings. But if you’re looking forward to seeing MJ’s famous little sister, Janet Jackson, on the screen, we have some sad news to report.
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As you may recall, a recent Variety article spoiled the fact that the “Rhythm Nation” singer wouldn’t appear in the movie, and that exclusion is no doubt going to be on people’s minds when they walk out of the theater. But the real question is why? Considering how close she and Michael were, not seeing Janet portrayed at all in a major movie about his life feels incomplete and borderline inaccurate.
According to a rep associated with the film who spoke with The Root, Janet declined to participate in the film. And given the rocky history between the singer and her brother’s estate—that also happens to be producing this gargantuan film—it’s easy to see why she’d make that decision.
If you’ll remember, in 2012, Janet, along with her brothers Jermaine, Randy, the late Tito and sister Rebbie, accused the estate of fraud and abuse of their mother, Katherine. In an open letter published not long after Michael’s shocking death, they accused John Branca (co-executor of the estate and MJ’s former lawyer) and others of engaging in a “heartless pursuit of wealth, fame and power” at the expense of their family. If things are still sour grapes between Janet and the estate all these years later, it makes perfect sense why she would distance herself from this project.
It’s also important to keep in mind that Janet shares a close relationship with Michael’s daughter, Paris. The two have been spotted hanging out together on multiple occasions over the last few years. Paris has been vocal about her disdain for the movie since stories first began coming out about it, despite the fact that her older brother, Prince, is an executive producer on the film, showed up daily for rehearsals and was present at the film’s global premiere in Berlin with Bigi “Blanket.”
But given Janet’s past clash with the estate, her niece’s current very public back and forth with them, and her ill feelings towards the film, it stands to reason why the “All For You” singer would choose to distance herself from the project. However, per Entertainment Tonight, Janet is “proud” of her nephew, Jaafar’s performance, despite previous reports that she allegedly clashed with Jermaine (Jaafar’s father) over various aspects of the film.
“Michael” hits theaters April 24.
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