Kat Graham Opens Up About Being Cut from “Michael” Movie After Filming as Diana Ross
Kat Graham Opens Up About Being Cut from “Michael” Movie After Filming as Diana Ross
Tommy McArdleThu, April 23, 2026 at 4:45 PM UTC
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Kat Graham on Oct. 22, 2025; Jaafar Jackson in Michael; Diana Ross circa 1970Credit: Paras Griffin/Getty; Glen Wilson/Lionsgate; Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty -
Kat Graham announced on social media that she does not appear as Diana Ross in Michael despite being cast in 2024
Ross, who famously led the Motown group The Supremes, costarred with Michael Jackson in 1978's The Wiz movie adaptation
Michael is in theaters April 24
Kat Graham is addressing why she does not appear in the new Michael Jackson biopic, more than two years after reports surfaced that she would portray Diana Ross in the movie.
Variety confirmed in 2024 that Graham, 36, would portray legendary Supremes lead singer Ross, now 82, in Michael, which stars the late pop star's nephew Jaafar Jackson in the lead role. Ahead of the movie's opening on Friday, April 24, Graham shared in a statement posted to X and her Instagram Stories that the scenes she filmed for the project were not included in the final version of the film.
"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."
Michael covers the singer's rise to fame as a member of The Jackson 5 and eventual break from his family and management by his father Joe Jackson. It's unclear where Ross, who famously costarred with Michael in the 1978 movie adaptation of The Wiz, may have factored into the biopic, which follows the "Beat It" singer's life into the late '80s.
Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, circa 1981Credit: Barry King/WireImage
Michael appears to have evolved significantly over the years. In 2025, a Puck report noted that the movie was forced to reshoot certain scenes after lawyers realized a clause in a settlement with Jordan Chandler—one of a number of people who have accused Michael of sexual abuse in the past—prevented any dramatization of those claims in the film. (Jackson and his estate have denied allegations of abuse for years.) In May 2025, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said during an earnings call that the movie would be moved out of its original 2025 release date.
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Director Antoine Fuqua told The New Yorker in a recent interview that he filmed a reenactment of a 1993 police raid on Jackson's then-home Neverland Ranch in California related to Chandler's accusations; this footage is not featured in the movie. The New Yorker and The Hollywood Reporter, among other outlets, have reported that Fuqua and the film's producer Graham King are considering utilizing some of the unused footage in a potential sequel. Michael ends with a title card that reads: "His Story Continues."
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Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in 'Michael'.Credit: LIONSGATE
Michael's cast includes Colman Domingo as Michael's father and manager Joe, Nia Long as Michael's mother Katherine, Miles Teller as Michael's lawyer John Branca, KeiLyn Durrel Jones as bodyguard Bill Bray, Larenz Tate as Berry Gordy, Kendrick Sampson as Quincy Jones and Mike Myers as Walter Yetnikoff, among others.
Michael is in theaters April 24.
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