Kat Graham just confirmed what nobody wanted to hear about the Michael Jackson biopic hitting theaters tomorrow.
The actress posted on X Thursday morning that her scenes as Diana Ross got cut from the final version of Lionsgate’s “Michael,” and the reason is buried in legal paperwork that goes way deeper than typical studio edits.
Director Antoine Fuqua’s film, which stars Michael Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson as the King of Pop, had to get retooled because of settlement agreements tied to the singer’s past, and that meant some performances never made it to the screen.
“Ahead of the April 24 release of the Michael Jackson film, I want to share that certain legal considerations affected a few scenes, including ones I filmed with an incredible cast,” Graham wrote on social media. “Unfortunately, these moments are no longer part of the final cut, though the team worked hard to preserve as much of the story as possible.”
The vibe here is professional, but the subtext is clear. Something legal forced the studio’s hand, and Graham’s Diana Ross portrayal became collateral damage in that process.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the original cut of the film included scenes showing Jackson dealing with child sexual abuse allegations, and the third act featured a portrayal of an accuser whose past settlement with Jackson’s estate included a clause that he could never be dramatized on screen.
That’s the legal consideration everyone’s talking about. The studio had to choose between keeping those scenes and facing potential litigation, so they pulled the plug on that entire section and reshaped the movie around it.
The relationship between Jackson and Ross goes back decades.
Jackson met Ross when he was performing with the Jackson 5 as a kid, and the two stayed close throughout his life.
His brother Jermaine has said that Michael wrote the 1992 song “Remember the Time” with Ross in mind, which makes her absence from this biopic feel even more significant. Colman Domingo plays Joe Jackson, Nia Long plays Katherine Jackson, and Miles Teller rounds out the cast as attorney John Branca.
The Michael Jackson biopic already has sequel rumors swirling around it, with Lionsgate developing a second film that would cover the latter portion of Jackson’s life leading up to his 2009 death.