The star of the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic is Latino. Jaafar Jackson, who is stepping into the role of his world famous uncle, is actually of Colombian descent.
When the movie Michael started to go into development in 2023, Jaafar Jackson was announced to be playing the King of Pop. Jaafar, who is 29, is the nephew of Michael Jackson. His father is Michael’s brother Jermaine Jackson and his mother is Alejandra Genevieve Oaziaza, who hails from Bogotá, Colombia. That means Jaafar is Colombian-American.
A clip online has resurfaced where Jaafar briefly talked about his heritage. “I’m half Colombian,” he says. “A lot of people don’t know.”
The viral clip of Jaafar has stirred up a lot of Colombian pride. In the comments section, many Michael Jackson fans, who are also Colombian, are singing their praises for Jaafar in English and Spanish.
One comment in Spanish reads: “Obviously, he had to be Colombian to dance like that.” That’s in reference to Jaafar recreating all of Michael’s iconic dance moves in the movie. Another Colombian person wrote in Spanish, “He needed to carry the blood of our land and our ancestors to be able to imitate the King.”
That clip of Jaafar was lifted from an interview where he was talking about his music career, which he launched in 2019. Jaafar also mentioned that he infused his songs at the time with elements of Latin music to reflect his Colombian roots.
Another Latino that stars in Michael is Colman Domingo, who plays family patriarch Joe Jackson.
Michael will open in theaters in the U.S. on April 24.
