La Toya Jackson is an American singer and television personality who is the fifth child out of twelve in the Gary, Indiana-based Jackson family. La Toya first gained recognition from The Jacksons, a television variety series that ran between 1976 and 1977, but also went on to achieve success as a solo recording artist.
In the latest news about the “Heart Don’t Lie” singer, La Toya Jackson recently gave some much-needed context as to why her sister, Janet Jackson, was excluded from the upcoming Michael biopic. When speaking to Variety at the premiere of Michael in Los Angeles on April 20, LA Toya shared that:
“She was asked and she kindly declined. So you have to respect her wishes.”
She went on to add that:
“I wish everybody was in the movie!”
Interestingly, director Antoine Fuqua also shared his perspective on Janet’s omission from the project with Variety:
“I have so much respect and love for Janet, but you know it’s okay. She’s supportive of Jaafar and that’s what matters.”
Meanwhile, La Toya was surrounded by several other family members at the star-studded event like her brothers Jackie, Marlon, Randy and Jermaine.
La Toya Jackson on Jaafar’s performance in Michael biopic, more
During her red carpet interview with Variety at the Los Angeles premiere for Michael, La Toya managed to touch on several interesting points. This includes her assessment of Jaafar Jackson’s performance as his uncle Michael at the core of the film. She deemed the performance as “absolutely fabulous”, adding that:
“I’m sure you’ve seen the movie and you know how wonderful he is, how we all forget and think that we’re watching Mike… He really delivered.”
Also, when asked if she thought the film would ultimately be held from release, given the controversial nature of her late brother’s allegations, La Toya Jackson responded in a way that reflected she always had faith the project would come to light:
“I knew within time it would be. Sometimes it takes time and yes of course, here we are.”
On the topic of a sequel or potential trilogy, the middle Jackson daughter shared the following:
“I’m not sure if there’s, um, gonna be a sequel. That’s up to the producers. I hear there might be. We don’t know, so no I haven’t been contacted yet, so.”
La Toya Jackson also shared that despite a recent health scare, she has rebounded and is doing much better. Michael is set to release in theaters on Friday, April 24.
For more on this story or other developing news, check out Soap Central.
Edited by Amey Mirashi