Anyone with even a basic understanding of Michael Jackson knows that Motown star and Supremes member Diana Ross had a significant impact on the King of Pop.
Two years ahead of the release of the hotly anticipated Jackson biopic Michael, Variety reported that actress Kat Graham was cast as Ross.
This week, the film rolled out in theaters, likely breaking box-office records; however, there's no Graham on screen. The Swiss American actress, who is best known for her role in the CW supernatural drama series The Vampire Diaries, released a short statement about the film on Thursday.
"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 in a statement posted to social media. "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."
The film Michael covers a time frame that begins before the Jackson 5 were famous, with them still living in Gary, Indiana, and continues through the late 1980s, at the start of the Bad tour. The movie is a Hollywood narrative with some events being changed or condensed and many details left out, including the Jackson 5's time in Detroit.
Jackson and Ross first met each other when he was a child and they later co-starred in the 1987 film version of The Wiz. In 2009, ABC News reported that Jackson wrote a 2002 will that his children should be cared for by Ross if his mother, Catherine Jackson, were deceased at the time of Michael's death.
Ross isn't the only woman in Jackson's life missing from the film. His sister Janet Jackson is not featured in any way, nor is the eldest Jackson sister, Rebbie Jackson. Behind the scenes, his daughter Paris Jackson opted not to be involved with the film, while her two brothers were.
It's been widely reported that an earlier version of the Michael script had addressed sexual assault allegations against Jackson, but had to be changed due to a clause in a settlement with one of his accusers. – The Detroit News/Tribune News Service
