Michael Jackson’s Nephew Responds to Critics’ Bad Reviews of ‘Michael’
Michael Jackson’s biopic Michaelis due to hit theaters worldwide on April 24, and despite being a highly anticipated watch for millions of his fans and moviegoers, early reviews from movie critics aren’t exactly glowing. In fact, as of publication, the film has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 31%.
Jake Coyle, writing for the Associated Press, gave it a 1.5 out of 4 and stated, “The nostalgia of Michael is for more than Michael Jackson. But blindly believing only in that celebrity, in that fantasy, is repeating a sad history all over again. Meanwhile, Siddhant Adlakha of IGN harshly noted:
“However, it’s astonishing to note just how short the movie falls of the genre’s already low expectations. In fact, it does the one thing no production should be able to. It makes Michael Jackson — the King of Pop and one of the most controversial, electric, groundbreaking figures of the 20th century — utterly boring.”
The scathing words from critics like these individuals have been met with pushback. Some Jackson fans are still committed to seeing the family-endorsed project regardless of the critique, and the King of Pop’s own nephew is coming to the defense of the movie.
Michael Jackson’s Nephew Puts the Media on Blast
Photo by REMKO DE WAAL/ANP/AFP via Getty Images
While Michael Jackson’s nephew Jaafar portrays him in Michael, it’s another nephew of the “Smooth Criminal” singer who has a few words for the media panning it. Taj Jackson, the eldest son of Michael’s brother Tito, took to X (formerly Twitter) to air his grievances against movie critics. Taj shared:
“Sorry media, u don’t get to control the narrative anymore of who Michael Jackson truly was. The public gets to watch this movie…they will decide for themselves. And you can’t handle that.”
Sorry media, u don’t get to control the narrative anymore of who Michael Jackson truly was. The public gets to watch this movie…they will decide for themselves.
— Taj Jackson (@tajjackson3) April 21, 2026
And you can’t handle that.
All that being said, I personally still feel invested in watching Michael in theaters. This is a project about the undisputed King of Pop, with an all-star cast featuring Nia Long, Larenz Tate, and Coleman Domingo. Plus, it’s a project directed by Antoine Fuqua. You can call my interest piqued.
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