Paris Jackson Has Harsh Words For ‘Michael’ Biopic: “Not My Monkeys, Not My Circus”

The highly anticipated Michael Jackson biopic Michael won’t hit theaters for awhile, but it’s already at the center of controversy. Paris Jackson, the 27-year-old daughter of the overdue King of Pop, took to her Instagram to slam the upcoming biopic from director Antoine Fuqua and writer John Logan, calling it “dishonest” and saying she has “0% involvement” in the film.

Jackson’s comments came two days after statements made by Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo, who plays Joe Jackson, the family patriarch, in the film. On Sunday, while leading the amfAR benefit gala for AIDS research during the Venice Film Festival, Domingo told People that Paris and her younger brother Prince Jackson were “very supportive of the film.” Paris Jackson, whom Domingo told People has been “lovely” to him, also performed at the amfAR event. “I’m excited to be here at amfAR tonight with Paris,” he added. “It feels like that’s a nice way for us to be together.”

The feeling was apparently not mutual. On Tuesday, Paris Jackson responded directly to Domingo’s comments on Instagram, distancing herself from the film. “[Colman], don’t be telling people I was ‘helpful’ on the set of a movie I had 0% involvement in lol. That is so weird,” she wrote.

The singer and actress explained that she had seen an early draft of the film and pointed out the parts that she felt were unconvincing: “I read one of the first drafts of the script and gave my notes about what was dishonest [and] didn’t sit right with me and when they didn’t address it I moved on with my life,” she wrote. “Not my monkeys, not my circus. God bless and godspeed.”

In follow-up videos posted to her Instagram story, Jackson expanded on her involvement with the film, saying that after she was explicitly informed her suggestions would not be considered, “I wasn’t involved at all, aside from giving feedback on the first draft and then getting the feedback that [production] was not actually going to address your notes at all. So I just butted out and left it alone because it’s not my project.”

She continued, saying that the filmmakers are “going to make whatever they’re going to make” and that the project would most likely make her father’s diehard fans happy. “A big reason why I haven’t said anything up until this point is because I know a lot of you guys are gonna be happy with it,” Jackson added. “A big section of the film 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.”

Michael has been in development since 2019 in collaboration with the Jackson family. It stars Domingo, Miles Teller, Nia Long, Kat Graham, and, in his massive screen debut, Michael Jackson’s grandson Jafar Jackson as the pop icon. The film has already faced several controversies. According to Puck, the production has reportedly been mired in rewrites and reshoots. The entire third act of the film reportedly had to be rewritten and re-shot, allegedly because the first version had overlooked terms of a settlement between the Jackson estate and a child-abuse accuser.

A source close to the production, however, flatly denied rumors that the production was a mess. “The Michael Jackson biopic is not in total chaos,” they told People in January. “The inflammatory headlines about the moving halting are simply not true. The film is moving forward, and reshoots are happening in March.”

Michael is currently set for release on April 24, 2026 from Lionsgate.

This story originally appeared in VF Italia.