00:00Michael Jackson fans won't be seeing Kat Graham as Diana Ross in the upcoming biopic, Michael.
00:07The actress revealed on social media Thursday that her scenes portraying the legendary Supreme
00:12singer were ultimately cut from the Lionsgate film due to what she called, quote,
00:17certain legal considerations. In a post to X ahead of the film's April 24th release,
00:22Graham wrote, I want to share that certain legal considerations affected a few scenes,
00:27including ones I filmed with an incredible cast. Unfortunately, these moments are no longer part
00:32of the final cut, though the team worked hard to preserve as much of the story as possible.
00:38Directed by Antoine Fruqua, Michael stars Jafar Jackson, the late singer's nephew, in the title
00:43role. Alongside Coleman Domingo as Joe Jackson and Nia Long as Katherine Jackson, Miles Teller,
00:49Laura Harrier, and Lorenz Tate round up the rest of the cast. While Graham did not specify the legal
00:55issues, The Hollywood Reporter previously reported that an earlier version of the film included a
01:00third act addressing child sexual abuse allegations against Jackson. That storyline was later reworked
01:06after complications tied to a past settlement involving one of Jackson's accusers who had
01:11agreed not to be dramatized. A second film focusing on the later years of Jackson's life leading up to
01:17his 2009 death remains in development at Lionsgate. Jackson famously shared a close bond with Diana Ross
01:24dating back to his Jackson five days, with his brother Jermaine once saying Michael wrote the 1992 song
01:29Remember the Time with Ross in mind. Graham is best known for her role in The Vampire Diaries and has
01:35recently appeared in Love in the Villa and Tyler Perry's Duplicity. For more on this story,
01:40be sure to head over to thehollywoodreporter.com. This is The Hollywood Reporter News.
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