Paris Jackson and Janet Jackson were absent from the Los Angeles premiere of the Michael biopic on Monday, 20 April, as the film’s complicated relationship with key members of the Jackson family played out on the red carpet.
Michael’s siblings Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon and Jackie Jackson were all present at the event, as was Paris’s brother Prince, 29.
The film, which hits cinemas on 24 April, charts the early career of the late King of Pop and stars Jermaine’s son Jaafar Jackson, 29, as Michael, who died in 2009 at the age of 50.
Paris, 28, has been open about her objections to the project since last year. She read an early draft of the script and shared her concerns about its accuracy, but when those weren’t addressed she walked away.
“Not my monkeys not my circus. God bless and god speed,” she wrote on Instagram Stories in September 2025.
She described the finished film as “sugarcoated” and accused it of containing “a lot of inaccuracy and there’s a lot of just full-blown lies,” while acknowledging that a certain section of her father’s fanbase would likely be happy with it.
“Go enjoy it. Do whatever. Leave me out of it,” she wrote.
Janet, 59, has not publicly commented on the film and is not a character in it.
According to a Page Six report from last month, she clashed with her family after Jermaine privately screened the film for them, expressing reservations about nearly every aspect of the production.
Jermaine reportedly told his sister she would “miss the wave” if she didn’t get on board.
Those close to Janet have since disputed the feud reports, with her nephew Austin Brown and her longtime creative director Gil Dudulao claiming the accounts were untrue.
Page Six has reported that Jermaine sees the biopic as an opportunity to restore the Jackson family’s reputation following the multiple allegations of child sexual abuse made against Michael both before and after his death, allegations Michael denied throughout his life and that his family continues to reject.
“This isn’t just about Michael. It’s about us. It’s about our legacy. It’s about the comeback in store for all of us,” one relative reportedly said after the private screening.
Michael’s youngest son Bigi, 24, was not at the LA premiere, though he had attended the film’s Berlin premiere earlier this month alongside Prince and several of their uncles.
