In the last few days, the Michael Jackson Fan community found itself embroiled in another drama relating to a series of disagreements between fan opinions and Taj Jackson.
Taj Jackson, Michael Jackson’s nephew and member of 90s boyband, 3T started a GoFundMe in January 2019 to produce a docuseries about his uncle, the King of Pop, as a response to the fake TV program “Leaving Neverland” released that same year.
Four years later, the GoFundMe has reached $252,280 (so far) thanks to donations by Michael Jackson fans, yet to date the docuseries hasn’t been released or, to knowledge, completed.
Despite giving updates, making TV appearances and speaking on multiple podcasts, Taj hasn’t provided a concrete date for the promised documentary in defence of his super star uncle. And some fans have started to question this, either directly to Taj or within the fan community.
While I completely understand that Taj Jackson has been extremely active on the media circuit talking about his plan for the documentary now named “Re-Righting HIStory” alongside defending his uncle, he also explained that it needs to be perfect and true to the facts which will take time. With COVID hitting the world for a few years as well as the birth of his latest child, Taj has been explaining the delays, though we’ve yet to see much of what’s been done so far. When if you compare it to another outstanding project ‘Trial By Media – The Michael Jackson Story’, Jin Chohan, the creator has been constantly updating on the progress including behind-the-scenes shots of many interviews he’s been conducting since the pandemic.
So, some fans have started to question why the docuseries hasn’t been done yet, 4 years on while they see other movies and documentaries, with less budget, being completed and released, both about Michael Jackson and otherwise.
But recently, some fans have revealed that Taj Jackson has been blocking people/fans that questioned him on the documentary’s real-time progress and when the $250,000 documentary series will appear.
If you donated like me for the production of this documentary, the question is genuine and there is also the concern that 4 years after “Leaving Neverland”, this will no longer be of as much interest to the public, than in the height of the furore when people were looking for a rebuttal.
He also put forward fans’ comments on his social media, highlighting them to his huge followers and fan base. And by doing so, those individuals receive a huge amount of abuse, threats and insults from those supporting Taj Jackson.
So the question here is “Are we allowed to question Taj Jackson regarding the whereabouts of this publicly funded documentary?”
As I donated for this, I feel really involved in seeing the documentary coming to life and I hugely appreciate the effort that Taj has made to defend his uncle, our idol, Michael Jackson. I will never take that away from him, especially when other members of the Jackson family haven’t been as vocal or as visible on the subject.
However, seeing other documentaries that have been released during or just after COVID, we can feel that we’d like to see a little more action – Who are the film crew that has been hired? Who has been hired to handle post-production, and who has been hired to design the look and feel of the finished film? Who has been hired to handle business development – selling and managing the rights of the film? Who has been hired to handle research? Who will feature in interviews that were around Michael Jackson at key moments and situations in his life? What style will the filming be in?
Yes, there was a pandemic, but most businesses still handled office administration, hiring, planning and things that didn’t require face-to-face activities, both in the world of film and otherwise. Added further, this series already has $250,000 in funding which means legitimate work can begin without the concerns over cash-flow.
So far, we’ve had some generic updates and we’ve seen some rehashed graphics from Michael’s previous work and the use of the old 90s font from the HIStory era. Surely, this needs to be fresh, new and appealing to the general public. Michael was all about ‘what’s next’, not what’s been done.
Is Taj Jackson right to block people who question him fairly, on the documentary? Absolutely not! As a public figure, his donating public has the right to know that what they paid for will be delivered. This is as simple as that. Yes, some fans took it too far and devalued his past work with 3T or calling him a thief. But nevertheless, when we talk about a quarter of a million dollars and proving the innocence of Michael Jackson, it seems unfair to block the fans that financed his project.
And as somebody who has asked the fans to finance this, he needs to ensure he is satisfying the curiosity and questions of all those who donate and not just those who are happy to go along with what’s said and attack anybody who challenges it further.
Just like John Branca, who is blocking people/fans questioning his leadership of the Estate and asking where the Thriller 40 documentary is, Taj is joining the trend.
And this is what is the saddest part of this story. We can disagree on many points of view, opinions and people; it’s part of life and humanity. But aggravating a situation through highlighting legitimate questions, knowing that the response is not going to be kind, is not acceptable. No matter how good your intentions are. We have all differing opinions on the matter but we all have to work hard to be respectful, not only to Taj Jackson but also to our fellow fans.
At MJVibe, we have supported Taj Jackson’s project and efforts since the beginning. We have posted all the updates on the documentary for fans to continue to donate and support the making of the documentary and we will not stop as we believe the project is essential to give the general public a true representation of Michael. Our devotion is to Michael first and then to his fans.
I wrote this piece with no intention of disrespecting Taj Jackson at all but I found the whole situation disturbing. Speaking solely on the Michael Jackson fan community, it’s been to hell and back so many times over the last few decades and we do not need petty drama when we should concentrate our efforts on activities that are going to defend and celebrate our idol, Michael Jackson.
Sebastian Mille
For MJVibe
Taj said that this will take time from the start. I know that he can’t just not release the truth about his uncle. He will deliver eventually. Some people are just impatient about it. I’m pretty sure that he has other stuff to deal with. It’s wrong for some people to automatically assume that he’s a thief. All of you people that are saying that he is a thief are wrong. You donate but now he’s considered a thief because he’s not releasing it when you think he should? I’m donator but I’m not complaining about it or questioning him either. I feel like everybody else can be the same way. I’m pretty sure he wants it to be right before it is completed and released. It has to be so that all of the lies can be put to rest. It has to be right because it’s about the fight for MJ.
The real question now is, if the doc really happens, will he be “allowed” to release it before the biopic?
He’s not going to answer certain production-related questions when detractors–including Dan Reed, himself–are lurking and watching to gain critical information to use to launch a preemptive strike or sabotage the project. You don’t want Dan Reed using the information Taj shares to make a part 2 to LN to undermine the effectiveness of the series. So, obviously, secrecy is an absolute must here. The less the other side knows, the better. Also, Taj already made it clear that he plans to release the series sometime this year. He has all the funding he needs (not from GoFundMe, but from a major investor/financier) and is working on it as we bicker. I don’t remember Dan Reed giving anyone a heads-up on LN. Part of the reason it was able to inflict the damage it did was because it caught everyone completely off guard. No one even knew (officially) who the alleged “victims” were. The element of surprise is key. As for a response to LN, the series is NOT going to be about LN; it’s going to be about Michael himself. There’s no time limit on the public’s interest when it comes to Michael. LN was 2019. Re-Righting HIStory is the future!