Michael Jackson’s estate hits out at daughter Paris' ‘irresponsible’ biopic criticisms
Topics: Michael Jackson, Hollywood
Joe Yates
Featured Image Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
Topics: Michael Jackson, Hollywood
Paris Jackson is making it crystal clear that she wants nothing to do with the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic - and the response from her late father’s estate has only made things messier.
The 27-year-old has repeatedly criticized Michael, which is set for release next month, saying the movie tells a story she does not believe is true. She goes on to describe the movie as part of a trend of ‘Hollywood’ productions that are ‘sold to you as real’, even though they can be packed with ‘inaccuracy’ and ‘full-blown lies'.
Paris hasn’t just taken issue with the movie itself, as she's accused estate co-executors John Branca and John McClain of poor financial judgment and a lack of transparency in the years since Michael Jackson died in 2009.
According to TMZ, Paris described the movie as a ‘botched production’ during a court appearance earlier this month - with a major sticking point appearing to be the scale of the film’s budget, with reports putting the project at around $150 million.
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She also questioned some of the spending attached to it, including the choice to cast Miles Teller as Branca, suggesting it was a costly decision without a clear commercial upside.
She further raised concerns over the movie’s expensive reshoots, saying: "The estate has had to fund tens of millions of dollars in reshoots after the terms of a well-known settlement agreement prevented the production from using substantial amounts of footage already shot."
This is in reference to reports that the movie originally planned to dramatise allegations Jackson had molested Jordan Chandler (then 13) in 1993, despite the terms of a $25 million settlement agreement in 2004 stating the boy and his family can never be mentioned or dramatized in a film.
That criticism, though, has been strongly rejected by the estate’s lawyers.
In a statement to TMZ, attorney Jonathan Steinsapir dismissed Paris’ claims as ‘without merit’ and accused her side of making ‘headline-grabbing’ allegations.
He also said she and her legal team were revisiting issues that had already been addressed and were more focused on ‘media games’ than the facts.
Steinsapir defended Branca and McClain by pointing to the estate’s financial turnaround, saying: "Ms Jackson has already received roughly $65 million in benefits and stands to inherit many hundreds of millions more.
"This is from an estate that was $500 million in debt and facing bankruptcy at the time of Michael’s death, but was turned by the executors into a business generating billions in revenue."
He also argued it would have been ‘irresponsible not to' pursue a major biopic about one of the most famous entertainers in history.
However, Paris insists she's kept her distance from the project - even responding to Colman Domingo's comments implying she had been helping him with his role.
Domingo, who plays Joe Jackson in Michael, told People last year that Paris and her brother Prince were 'very much in support of our film'.
He added that he and Paris had 'chatted briefly' and she'd been 'nothing but lovely and warm' to him.
Taking to Instagram, Paris penned: "@Kingofbingo don’t be telling people I was helpful on the set of a movie I had 0% involvement in lol that is so weird.
"I read one of the first drafts of the script and gave my thoughts on what was dishonest/didn’t sit right with me and when they didn’t address it I moved on with my life.
"Not my monkeys not my circus. God bless and god speed."