Colman Domingo – who stars in the new, universally-panned Michael Jackson biopic – has defended the film against claims it “whitewashes” abuse allegations against the King of Pop.
The Sing, Sing actor plays Jackson family patriarch Joe in the new movie, which is finally arriving in cinemas this weekend after years of behind-the-scenes drama.
The film was initially due to address the first child abuse allegations against Michael, which emerged when 13-year-old Jordan Chandler’s family spoke out in 1993. The case was eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed sum which is now believed to have been as high as $30 million.
Last-minute changes saw these scenes cut and the film’s ending hastily reshot after lawyers realised spotlighting the claims breached the settlement agreement.
During an appearance on US talkshow Today, Domingo was asked what he would say to people who believe Michael “whitewashed that part” of Jackson’s legacy.
He replied: “The film takes place from the ’60s to 1988, so it does not go into the first allegations in, what, 2005? Basically, we centre it on the makings of Michael. It’s an intimate portrait of who Michael is.”
The 56-year-old added that the film tells MJ’s story “through his eyes”. “That’s what it is,” he continued. “That’s what this film is, and there’s the possibility of there being a part two that may deal with other things that may happen afterwards.
“This is about the making of Michael, how he was raised, and how he was trying to find his voice as an artist.”
While movie’s rollouts typically include worldwide press tours, Domingo hasn’t completed many engagements for Michael and made little mention of the film when he hosted SNL last week – though he did sport a vintage t-shirt from the singer’s Bad tour.
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The lack of promotional activity has perhaps been for the best.
When Domingo last year claimed MJ’s two eldest children, Paris and Prince were “very much in support of our film”, the former wasted no time in letting fans know that wasn’t the case.
In a post on social media, she wrote: “Don’t be telling people I was ‘helpful’ on the set of a movie I had zero per cent involvement in lol that is so weird.
“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.
“Not my monkeys, not my circus. God bless and God speed.”
In follow-up posts, the 28-year-old said she “butted out” and left the film alone when she was told the production would not address her notes, adding: “The narrative is being controlled and there’s a lot of inaccuracy and there’s a lot of just full-blown lies.
“At the end of the day, that doesn’t really fly with me. Go enjoy it. Do whatever. Leave me out of it.”
