Colman Domingo portrays Michael Jackson's father Joe Jackson in 'Michael,' in theaters April 24
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Colman-Domingo-Jaafar-Jackson-Michael-042326-tout-619cad42352a40fabb40d37a4afdbe16.jpg "Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson in Michael Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in Michael.")
Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate; Glen Wilson/Lionsgate
NEED TO KNOW
- Colman Domingo and Nia Long were asked about the notion that the new Michael Jackson biopic “whitewashed” controversial elements of the singer’s life that happened after the movie ends in 1988
- Michael director Antoine Fuqua confirmed in a recent interview that the movie originally opened with a 1993 police raid on Jackson’s home Neverland Ranch
- Michael is in theaters April 24
Colman Domingo and Nia Long are addressing the allegation that the new Michael Jackson biopic intentionally avoids addressing the controversies that followed the late singer in the last decades of his life.
Domingo, 56, and Long, 55, portray Jackson's parents Joe Jackson and Katherine Jackson in Michael, which follows the King of Pop from his childhood in Gary, Indiana through the 1980s, as he established himself as a superstar recording artist and broke away from working solely with his family. When Long and Domingo appeared on the Today show on Wednesday, April 22, host Craig Melvin noted that the movie ends in 1988 and asked the duo what they would say to audience members who may believe the movie "whitewashed that part," regarding allegations of child molestation against Michael that were first made public in 1993.
"The film takes place from the '60s to 1988, so it does not go into the first allegations in, what, 2005," Domingo said. "So basically we center it on the makings of Michael, so it's an intimate portrait of who Michael is." "Through his eyes," Long added.
"So that's what it is. That's what this film is," Domingo said. "And there's a possibility of a part two that may deal with some other things that happened afterwards. This is about the making of Michael, how he was raised and then how he was trying to find his voice as an artist and be a solo artist. And then, the movie. . . That's what I have to say about that."
Melvin, 46, also asked Domingo and Long about reports that Lionsgate is considering producing a second movie based on Michael's life. "There could be, if the price is right!" Long said, with a laugh.
Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate;Alain BENAINOUS/Gamma-Rapho/Getty
Michael director director Antoine Fuqua shared new details about the massive overhaul Michael underwent in 2025 after lawyers reportedly learned of a previously overlooked clause in a settlement agreement between the "Thriller" singer and one of his accusers in an interview with The New Yorker published Monday, April 20.
Michael, who died at 50 in 2009, was accused of sexually abusing 13-year-old Jordan Chandler in 1993; he settled with the Chandler family out of court for a reported $25 million. The producers behind the movie had to rewrite and reshoot significant portions of the movie after lawyers realized that the settlement included an agreement that the Chandlers could never be mentioned or dramatized in a movie, per a January 2025 report from Puck. At the time, the outlet claimed the Chandler saga was a key "backbone" of the movie — which Fuqua confirmed while speaking with The New Yorker.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate
The movie was originally meant to open with the 1993 police raid on Neverland Ranch, the singer's infamous California compound as investigations opened regarding Chandler's allegations, as The New Yorker reported. “I shot [Michael] being stripped naked, treated like an animal, a monster,' " Fuqua, 60, told the outlet.
On April 7, Variety reported that Lionsgate believes "roughly 30% of the material" that did not make it into Michael's final cut could be reused for a potential sequel. Given the legal complications related to dramatizing moments from Michael's life related to Chandler's allegations, it is unclear whether that material would play a role in a second Michael biopic. As of now, the movie ends with a title card that reads: "His Story Continues."
Michael is in theaters April 24.