While Michael Jackson’s nephew, Jaafar, portrays him in the upcoming biopic about his life, there is someone who was much closer to the pop icon who will not even attend the premiere: his daughter, Paris.
The film, titled Michael, is marred by controversy, as Paris has completely distanced herself from the project.
She also appears to have changed her mind about her father’s innocence years after he was first accused of inappropriate conduct toward children.
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Trigger warning: this article contains details that may be distressing to some.
The film, which premieres on April 24, follows the King of Pop’s rise to stardom and culminates at the peak of his solo career in the 1980s.
His 28-year-old daughter said of the film last summer, “I read one of the first drafts of the script and gave my notes about what was dishonest/didn’t sit right with me, and when they didn’t address it, I moved on with my life.”
She stressed, “It’s not my project. They’re going to make whatever they’re going to make. A big reason why I haven’t said anything up until this point is because I know a lot of you guys (the fans) are gonna be happy with it.”
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Paris explained that most of the biopic “panders to a very specific section of my dad’s fandom that still lives in the fantasy and they’re gonna be happy with it.”
She added that the film, produced by Jackson’s estate, is “inaccurate” and contains “a lot of just full-blown lies,” stating, “Go enjoy it. Do whatever. Leave me out of it.”
According to The Daily Mail, the model and musician has recently come to believe that the damaging allegations against her father are true.
Image credits: Lionsgate
Paris is said to be close to the Cascio family, whose children recently filed a lawsuit in California against Jackson’s estate and all of the adults working for him, alleging they were complicit in Jackson’s repeated ab*se against them.
The family claimed the pop star ab*sed four of their five children for years. Jackson met the then-minors through their father, Frank, an employee at a New York hotel where the singer often stayed.
The children reportedly kept quiet about the inappropriate conduct under Jackson’s orders.
Image credits: Lionsgate
In the lawsuit, filed late February, the four siblings called Jackson a “serial child predator” who preyed upon them when they were as young as “seven or eight.”
In photos released this week, Jackson can be seen cuddling two of the Cascio children, Dominic and Aldo.
Entertainment industry attorney Martin Singer, representing the Jackson estate, called the lawsuit a “desperate money grab.”
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Though Paris previously referred to the allegations against her “kind-hearted” father as “lies,” a source close to the Cascios recently told The Daily Mail that Paris believes the children and wants to “go public” with her support when she feels ready.
“Paris has stayed in touch with the Cascio family and she is especially close with their mother, Connie,” the source said.
“There have been some very candid conversations over the years between Paris and the Cascio family and, based upon those, Paris knows exactly what her father did.
“This will come out officially from Paris in time but it’s going to come out when Paris wants it to come out.”
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Meanwhile, a separate source told the outlet that the 28-year-old, whose father passed away when she was 11, has no interest in sharing what she thinks about Jackson with the world, and that she still holds “complicated” feelings about him.
Paris has covered some tattoos that were dedicated to her superstar father, including a logo based on his initials on her finger and a large tattoo of Jackson’s face on her arm, based on the cover of his Dangerous album.
Image credits: Ray Mickshaw/Getty Images
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She is currently embroiled in a legal battle over her late dad’s finances with those running his estate. On April 6, she accused executors John Branca and John McClain of “mocking and belittling” her, with the filing stating that the “overlitigation is a waste.”
Paris is the middle of Jackson’s three children. Her brothers are Prince, who was also born to Jackson’s ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, and Bigi, born via surrogate in 2002.
Image credits: HBO
Image credits: HBO
Another point of controversy for the film lies in its coverage of the allegations against Jackson.
The Jackson estate reportedly had to rewrite the entire final third of the Michael biopic, which centered on the allegations of misconduct, due to a violation of an NDA included as part of a settlement with the family of Jordan Chandler, an alleged victim and one of Jackson’s first accusers.
People reacted to Paris’ alleged close relationship with the Cascio family
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