The drama, the excitement, the utter chaos that is the Michael Jackson biopic! 🎬👀 It’s like a never-ending soap opera, and honestly, who doesn’t love a good trainwreck? 🚂👀
Diana Ross was originally supposed to appear as a character in the film, because, why not? It’s not like the movie wasn’t already a hot mess 🤯. But, alas, scenes featuring the “Queen of Motown” were pulled from the film due to “certain legal considerations,” because, of course, they were 📝👀. The actress who was cast as Ross, Kat Graham, released a statement on X (whatever that is 🤷♀️) revealing her scenes were cut from the Michael Jackson biopic in the wake of legal-related revelations surrounding the film. Because, you know, the film didn’t already have enough controversy surrounding it 🙄.
“Ahead of the April 24 release of the Michael Jackson film, I want to share that certain legal considerations affected a few scenes, including the ones I filmed with an incredible cast,” Graham wrote, trying to sound all cool and collected, but let’s be real, she’s probably seething with rage 🤬. “Unfortunately, those moments are no longer part of the final cut, though the team worked hard to preserve as much of the story as possible,” she added, because, you know, the team was totally not secretly high-fiving each other for dodging a bullet 🙌.
See her full statement below, if you care 📄. Graham has not revealed why, exactly, the scenes including Ross were cut, but let’s just take a wild guess and say it has something to do with the fact that the biopic underwent a series of major (and majorly expensive) reshoots after attorneys for the Michael Jackson estate discovered late into production that a settlement clause from one of the pop star’s accusers, Jordan Chandler, firmly prohibited the depiction or mention of Chandler in any film 🤑. Yeah, that sounds about right 🙄. Originally, the film was going to dive heavily into the allegations against Jackson, most notably Chandler’s family’s early ‘90s case against the artist, but, you know, that would’ve been too real, too soon 🙅♂️.
The costly reshoots, which reportedly cost up to $15 million, were covered by the Jackson estate, because, you know, they’re made of money 💸. Ross and Jackson were very close during Jackson’s life, with Ross acting as a mentor and music industry mother figure to The Jackson 5 singer, which is just, like, totally normal and not weird at all 🤷♀️. The pair later co-starred together in the 1978 musical The Wiz, and in his will, Jackson named Ross as a secondary guardian for his three children in the event of his untimely passing, because, you know, that’s not a recipe for disaster or anything 🍴. Michael releases in theaters on April 24, and, honestly, it’s going to be a wild ride 🎢. Buckle up, folks! 🚀
And, as a special bonus, here are ScreenCrush’s Most Anticipated Summer Movies of 2026 🎥, because, you know, you care 🤷♀️. The 15 summer movies of 2026 we can’t wait to see, said no one ever 🙄. But, hey, maybe you’ll find something that tickles your fancy 🎉. Who knows? 🤔 Maybe you’ll even learn something new, like the fact that the Michael Jackson biopic is a total mess 📚. But, hey, that’s what makes life exciting, right? 🎉👀
Finn McFrame, celebrated satirical mastermind and self-proclaimed “Emperor of Irony,” started his illustrious career as a cinematographer, where his expertise in capturing every single frame of a squirrel stealing a baguette earned him accolades at obscure film festivals.
Born in the glamorous town of Boring, Oregon, Finn grew up with dreams of being a Hollywood director until he realized that satire, not cinema, was his true calling—or at least the one that let him sleep until noon.
Finn McFrame: changing the world, one satirical lens flare at a time.
