The first teaser for Michael Jackson biopic Michael received generally positive reactions from online fans Thursday, but there’s one “wild” element that some commenters found a bit... distracting.
Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson plays his famous uncle in the biopic, in which the 29-year-old dons a prosthetic nose to complete the physical transformation for the King of Pop’s early years.
As one fan wrote, “That nose…why they playing with Micheal like that?” Another summed up the consensus, “That nose is my ONLY problem, honestly he walks (Moon), talks and sounds like Michael Jackson—except that nose.”
“That prosthetic nose is wild,” wrote another user, who otherwise praised the film’s “excellent casting.” More comments about the nose enhancement piled up, as others called it “overdone.”
While some complained that the film could have opted for CGI to get the nose just right, others shamed naysayers for hyper-focusing on it in the first place.
“After watching that incredible teaser, this is where you land?” one user questioned.
Jackson got his first nose surgery in 1979, after he broke it in a fall off stage. Multiple operations followed, after the initial operations caused him breathing problems. The film’s teaser suggests the movie is likely to address the ordeal head-on, users note, as they praise Jafaar’s uncanny resemblance. There are few other complaints about his portrayal of his uncle, as most fans seem excited about the biopic, which will also star Colman Domingo, Miles Teller, Nia Long, and more.
Lionsgate’s controversial biopic had a tumultuous start. Jackson’s daughter Paris slammed the project for containing “full-blown lies.” She posted to Instagram after Domingo claimed she was “helpful” to the film, “I read one of the first drafts of the script and gave my notes about what was dishonest / didn’t sit right with me, and when they didn’t address it, I moved on with my life.”
More are unhappy with the film’s sidestepping of sexual abuse allegations against the late star, as the lawyer of some of Jackson’s accusers called the film “propaganda.”
In January, Puck reported that the film’s third act had to be rewritten and reshot, further delaying its long awaited release, because the film set out to “debunk” abuse allegations made by Jordan Chandler, the then-13-year-old who told a psychologist Jackson had molested him. Chandler would have appeared in the mostly completed film, had it not been for an overlooked, years-old agreement, that the estate would never dramatize Chandler’s story.
Despite the many controversies surrounding the movie’s inception, fans are generally excited about the film based on the first teaser—though they would have been happier with a smaller fake nose.
Not everyone found the feature unrealistic, however, as one X user wrote, “I’m seeing many people complaining about the prosthetic nose being too big, but it’s literally how Michael’s natural nose was. The movie is spot on.”
