“The Vampire Diaries” star Kat Graham announced on social media Thursday that she does not appear in the final, forthcoming theatrical release cut of Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson biopic, “Michael.”
In March 2024, it was reported that Graham would star in “Michael” as legendary singer and actress Diana Ross. However, Graham announced Thursday on X, one day ahead of the theatrical release of “Michael,” that the scenes she filmed for it had been cut due to “legal considerations.”
“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. “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.”
Lionsgate did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
— Kat Graham (@KatGraham) April 23, 2026
Directed by “Training Day” and “The Equalizer” filmmaker Antoine Fuqua, “Michael” follows its eponymous lead (played by Jackson’s real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson) from his early days as part of the Jackson 5 in the 1960s through part of his successful solo pop career and into his iconic Bad tour in the late 1980s.
In addition to Jackson, the film’s cast includes Colman Domingo as Jackson’s father Joe, Nia Long as his mother Katherine, Miles Teller as entertainment lawyer and manager John Branca, Larenz Tate as Motown president Berry Gordy, Kendrick Sampson as music producer Quincy Jones, Liv Symone as Gladys Knight, Mike Myers as CBS Records President Walter Yetnikoff and Laura Harrier as then-Motown creative assistant Suzanne de Passe.
While “Michael” has not been released in theaters yet, it has already been revealed to end with a title card that reads “His Story Continues.” That detail has prompted reports that Fuqua and producer Graham King may be considering using some of the unused footage from the film in a potential sequel.
It is, as of now, unclear what exactly Graham’s role as Ross would have entailed in “Michael.” Ross famously co-starred alongside Jackson in the 1978 film adaptation of “The Wiz.”
“Michael” is set to hit theaters on Friday, April 24.
