Actress Kat Graham says she was cut from “Michael,” the Michael Jackson movie.
Graham was announced long ago to play Diana Ross, Michael’s close friend and confidante.
But Graham says “legal considerations affected some of the scenes.”
She doesn’t give a reason but possibly Ross, like Janet Jackson, didn’t give her approval be included in the film.
The other reason might be that Ross was in scenes defending Michael during his 1993-96 period of accusations of child molestation from the family of Jordan Chandler. Their settlement prohibited their story from being depicted in a film — something the Estate only realized after scenes had been shot.
Actor Kevin Shinick was also cut from the movie after filming scenes playing Dick Clark.
“Michael” opens in previews today, and Lions Gate is predicting a massive weekend turnout. They want it to be record setting. This is despite very negative reviews, and no endorsement from Michael’s daughter, Paris. She’s actually criticized the movie.
Quite a bit of “Michael” was cut in the end, and left on the editing room floor (so to speak). The result is that the movie has no real third act. It just sort of ends in 1988 after the release of the “Bad” album.
As I wrote in my review this week, there are numerous factual errors in the film. Some are about the people who helped Michael with his career, from manager Frank DiLeo to choreographers and directors. The Jackson brothers don’t even have lines or actual characterizations — they’re shadows.
There are also issues of just plain facts. A note buried at the end of the credits acknowledges that the song “Never Can Say Goodbye” is performed three years before it was released — something that either happened in editing or it was a mistake.
— Kat Graham (@KatGraham) April 23, 2026
