Michael Jackson Movie Sequel Will Address Child Abuse Allegations From “His Point Of View,” Says Jaafar Jackson

For a long time, the producers of Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic that came out earlier this year, reportedly planned to include a story arc about one of the many children who accused Jackson of sexual abuse. After filming an entire third arc about Jackson's decision to settle out of court with the family of Jordan Chandler, the 13-year-old boy who first sued Jackson for abuse in 1993, the producers reportedly had to scrap that part of the movie, which showed Jackson as "the naïve victim of the money-grubbing Chandler," after lawyers discovered that the settlement forbade Jackson and his estate from including the Chandler family in a movie. The final theatrical version of Michael simply omits all details of the sordid events of the later decades in Michael Jackson's life. The story ends with Jackson distancing himself from his domineering father at the end of the Jacksons' 1984 Victory Tour, with a quick flash-forward to Jackson performing "Bad" in London in 1987. As it fades out, a title card informs us that Jackson's story continued. Michael, which I found to be both ridiculous and entertaining, was a blockbuster success, ultimately surpassing Bohemian Rhapsody to become the ...