Just as the ‘Michael‘ biopic hits theaters today, actress Kat Graham has opened up about why her role as Diana Ross got cut, saying it came down to what she calls “legal considerations.”
Graham, known for ‘The Vampire Diaries‘, was set to play the Motown legend who played a big part in Jackson’s early life and career. But on Thursday, she told fans on social media that her scenes won’t be in the film.
Kat Graham’s Official Statement on Her Cut Scenes
Graham addressed the news directly on her X profile. “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,” she wrote. “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.”
Ross was the one who famously “presented” The Jackson 5 to the world and later starred with Michael in ‘The Wiz‘. Her removal is just the latest change to hit the production.
The Legal Considerations Behind the Cut
Sources say the movie underwent major rewrites after lawyers found a clause in a settlement with one of Jackson’s accusers that strictly forbade any dramatization of those allegations. That clause directly affected scenes about the 1993 accusations, and its ripple effects also seem to have forced the removal of other storylines, including Graham’s scenes as Ross.
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“It has become far more known for what it excludes than what it actually depicts,” one critic said, pointing out that Jackson’s sister Janet is also missing from the project.
Even with all the cuts, director Antoine Fuqua’s film, which stars Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson as Michael, is still expected to do very well at the box office this weekend. Critics say the story has been “sanitised,” but that doesn’t seem to be slowing it down.
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