Jaafar Jackson EMOTIONAL Talking About His FINAL Conversation With Michael.. – dw

You know, the one I cherish the most, I would probably say is the last time I saw him, is when I uh we we had a big family dinner for my grandparents. It was their anniversary, actually. And uh I just remember him hugging me right before he was leaving and just say, “I can’t wait to see you in July cuz that’s when he was going to London to do even more rehearsals for the This Is It.

” And uh we were excited to go see him. And um I I just remember him singing and and and just asking me some questions of how you know things I was doing at that time. But I really cherish that memory. Jafar Jackson has opened up emotionally about his final memories of Michael Jackson, revealing the personal connection he still carries with his uncle years later.

For Jafar Jackson, Michael Jackson was never just the legendary performer the world knew. He was his uncle, someone he remembers through simple family moments filled with laughter, games, movies, and plenty of candy. Jafar recalled growing up around Michael and his other uncles at Havenhurst, where family days meant playing hide-and-seek, board games, and simply enjoying each other’s company.

Those memories gave him a completely different perspective on the man behind the global superstar. What do you remember most about Michael? What I remember most is just really those tender moments of having fun with my uncle and if it was my uncle Jackie, my uncle Marlin, but my uncle Michael and he we’d come over uh Haven Hear where I grew up and we’d have family day and it was just so fun.

We’d play board games, we just uh play hide and go seek. We’d have a lot of candy, watch movies. So, it was always a lot of levity and and fun. He also remembered the first time he truly understood just how famous his family was. At around five or six years old, Jafar attended the Jackson family’s 30th anniversary celebration at Madison Square Garden.

Hearing thousands of fans screaming while watching his father and uncles perform made him realized that their music meant something enormous to people around the world as he grew older. Jafar began to understand the magnitude of Michael’s fame. But those childhood memories remained centered on the loving uncle he knew privately.

When did you realize that you’re like, damn, we’re pretty famous. When did I first realize I I was I was uh around five or six in in New York for the 30th anniversary. Yes. Uh Madison Square Garden. I just remember it being incredibly loud hearing all the fans screaming. I was covering my ears and seeing my my father and uncles on stage.

That was my very first time seeing a foreigner. And that’s I feel like that’s when I first realized that they’re they’re incredibly important and their music means a lot to the to the world just by hearing and seeing the fans reaction cuz I I was so young so I couldn’t really fully comprehend you know the magnitude of their of their appeal to to people.

But as I grew older then I started to really understand. Moreover, Jafard explained that Michael Jackson’s life and career are too expansive to be contained within a single film, stating that the story doesn’t end in one movie. And Michael’s story continues. Oh, I’m excited to see. There’s so much to tell Michael’s story.

You can’t fit all into one movie. It’s possible to tell in two hours. So, I’m I’m definitely looking forward to to seeing uh what will come about in that way. And and it’s definitely in the making. Is that already done or you making it now? When what is the latest on It’s in the early development right now.

Oh, okay. Yeah. So, you’re ready. You still have to stay in Michael Mo. Yeah, that’s right. I do. Playing Michael Jackson was far more personal for Jafar Jackson than simply taking on a movie role. As Michael’s nephew, he had memories of the man behind the superstar, and he drew on that personal connection while preparing to portray him.

Jafar has described the experience as a calling and said he had to work hard to authentically embody his uncle. I don’t remember a moment that you weren’t, Michael. I feel like by the time we met, I was definitely more in a flow state. You were in the pocket in in a way. Yeah. I I was getting closer and closer, but I always felt like I wasn’t fully there.

Um, but for me it was there was definitely nerves in the very very very beginning before I even attempted to uh try an acting class or attempted a dance move or any of that. There you didn’t do any of that before? No, you were playing golf. I was playing golf. I was playing other sports. I was doing music.

I was producing. I was writing. I was singing. But nothing in film. The challenge went beyond learning Michael’s famous dance moves. Jafar spent extensive time studying his mannerisms, voice, performances, and even Michael’s personal writings to understand the person behind the legend. How many hours were put into just that number? O to I don’t know hours, but I know I’ll dedic I don’t I don’t want to add it all right now, but I would do four to six hours of rehearsal every day uh Monday through Friday. Sometimes one even on

the weekends, but a month straight solid. But I would prep prior to that with other songs before I I knew we were going to do that cuz songs were shuffling. That’s a very difficult number to perform. Yeah, that’s the most I would say outside of Billy Jean, that’s um the most intense. For Jafar, the goal was not simply to imitate Michael, but to help audiences see the human being behind The King of Pop.

For Jafar Jackson, some of his favorite memories of Michael were not about the superstar the world knew, but about the uncle he experienced during family time. He remembers Michael coming over to Havenhurst where the family would gather for game days and simply enjoy being together. Jafar also fondly recalls spending time with Michael at Neverland.

They would play hide-and-seek, eat plenty of candy, go on the rides, and watch movies together. To Jafar, these moments were filled with fun, laughter, and a sense of normal family life. Those memories are particularly meaningful because Jaffar was only 12 when Michael died in 2009. He grew up knowing Michael as his uncle long before he fully understood the extraordinary level of fame surrounding him.

Now years later, Jafar portrayed Michael on screen. But rather than relying only on Michael’s public image, he drew from those personal childhood memories to understand the man behind The King of Pop. For Jafar, perhaps the most special part of Michael’s legacy is remembering him simply as Uncle Michael, the person who played games, watched movies, shared candy, and created happy family memories.

I was in the kitchen and they’re cooking a breakfast and I wasn’t craving breakfast. I wanted candy. And I remember my uncle Michael coming out of uh the doorway to come into to sit down to have breakfast. And I I was saying, “Can I have candy? Can I is where I can get some candy?” And and he said, “Oh, of course of of course you can you could take the whole the whole candy machine.

” So you took the whole candy machine. It was actually it was like it’s big. So I actually took the whole candy machine home. It’s a good uncle. Really? Yeah. Yeah. For Jafar Jackson, the moment he first saw himself fully transformed into Michael was more than just makeup and costume. It was deeply emotional.

After hours in the makeup chair, he looked in the mirror and suddenly saw his uncle staring back at him. Jafar described the experience as surreal and spiritual, especially knowing he was about to step onto the set and portray someone he had known personally. So, a couple weeks went by and I sent him a text out of the blue of me uh speaking as Michael to the best of my ability at the time and singing a song as Michael.

I just texted him texted to him randomly and he called me back saying, “Wow, I’m getting you a coach tomorrow and see where this can go.” And then that led to another another thing for 6 months to a year. So, it was a culmination of many moments that really led up to me getting the role until I think I had a screen test with the full hair and makeup and I think that really solidified it.

What made the moment even more powerful was that his first day of filming immediately threw him into one of Michael’s iconic performances. Wearing the costume and seeing the transformation complete, Jafar said the reality of becoming his uncle finally hit him. However, before all this, Jafar was only into music and sports.

He shared in interviews that he never imagined or dreamed of playing his late uncle Michael Jackson, admitting he never even aspired to be an actor. Did you ever think that you would ever play Michael Guy? me absolutely not. I I was always inspired by his his music, his videos and the message he had through his music and I remember uh I was around 3 or four years old uh always watching the Dangerous Tour and in the living room and and my family would come in and say, “Why you why are you studying his moves? I’m trying to

mimic his moves.” and and then I got into to sports, but always was very inspired by just how the the videos and the artistry he he had. And my very earliest memory was seeing them and when I was around 6 years old and that really made me realize who uh they were and my seeing my father and my uncles on stage.

Jafar also shared that seeing his uncle Michael Jackson and other family members in person shifted his childhood view from seeing a global superstar to simply recognizing a loving family member, an experience that grounds his approach to carrying forward the family’s monumental musical and artistic legacy. But when you have that moment and you realize, wait a minute, this is my actual actual family.

When did that ever register for you? It was in New York in 2001 on the 30th anniversary of the Jacksons. That’s when I first saw them on stage. And hearing the crowd react to them when they first came up, it was it was piercing to the ear. But you felt the love and and the the love that the fans had for my family.

I really felt it at that age and I knew what it was. And now you get to carry it on. All of you do. That legacy for the world to see. You know what I mean? That is so awesome. Jafar Jackson shared in another interview that mastering Michael Jackson’s signature dance was the hardest part of prepping for the Michael Biopic.

Specifically, he noted that the hardest move to nail down was the spin because his natural balance made him want to spin to the right, whereas Michael spun to the left. He didn’t feel like he truly started getting it right and nailing it consistently until a couple of months before production after roughly 3 years of obsessive repetition.

Okay, Jafar, you trained for 2 years dancing and rehearsing in Michael’s old room. Okay. Now, what was the moment where you looked in the mirror and it hit you that you had transformed into your uncle Michael? It’s when I I was able to uh land three spins and stop on my toes. That’s like, okay, I’m getting somewhere.

And the spins are to the left, right? Yeah, to the left. Which was hard for me because initially I would uh when I would try to spin, I’d spin to my right naturally. and I had to learn to do it opposite which was it took a long time to get used to that. Jafar further shared that carrying the Jackson name means holding immense pride and gratitude for the hard work his family put in before him.

Following the film’s historic box office run, he noted that the experience gave him a deeper understanding of his family’s legendary legacy in entertainment. Moreover, he acknowledged that his family’s prior generations paved the way and worked hard so he could step into the spotlight.

He expressed that he carries a lot of love and pride in being a Jackson, feeling profoundly grateful to be born into the family. What does being a Jackson mean to you after this? It’s a good question. I carry so much love and pride in it and I have a deeper understanding of all the hard work they really did for me to be here.

Yes, I would say. And that was all led by Joseph. not to just get lost in the celebrity of it and the accolades, but also to always make sure you’re yeah, you’re sticking to your your your roots and you’re giving back. I had a better understanding after this film, I would say, of all of that after doing a deeper dive into my family’s past and and uh Michael specifically, but as a whole family, I think it really informed me to just be appreciative and incredibly grateful to be born in this family.

What makes Jafar’s transformation especially powerful is that he wasn’t approaching Michael as a stranger. He had known him as his uncle, remembered private family moments, and could draw on those memories while portraying the superstar. His goal was ultimately to show audiences the human being behind the legend, not just the iconic performer they already knew.

For Jafar, that first look in the mirror became the moment the role truly became real. When you first saw me perform as Michael, you shared you wanted to protect me. Why is that a feeling that came over you? I just thought what I saw was very special and I felt like I I you don’t see it that often and I know when I saw it I I believed it and I was like, “Oh, that has to be protected.

” That’s something I I didn’t anticipate at all until I saw you guys. I saw you guys perform and I was like, “Wo, whatever he’s doing is so special. I want to make sure he has everything he needs and I want to protect it.” Jafar then revealed that filming the 1984 Pepsi commercial accident was his most emotional moment in the Michael movie.

He noted how reliving the sudden chaos of the burn and realizing the intense physical pain and pressure his uncle endured while remaining famous deeply moved him. Which performance was the most emotional for you? Oh. Uh, Pepsi. Just understanding and knowing what happened that uh that day and leading up to it.

Just thinking like obviously going through the choreography then once the burn happens and then and every you know everyone storming in and and having a sense of that that chaos and that feeling. It was uh pretty emotional and just imagine what Michael must have truly felt especially up there how sensitive that area is. can only imagine the pain and how he had to just and then to manage that manage it and and still be famous.

And Jafar wasn’t the only family member who remembered Michael beyond the superstar image. Catherine Jackson often spoke about him first and foremost as her son, the little boy she watched grow up before the world ever knew his name. Moreover, Katherine Jackson has frequently spoken out against what she calls the lies and exaggerations told about her son by people writing books and by his former physician, Dr.

Conrad Murray. She noted that she avoids publicly addressing every false claim because it only helped sell books. But she has maintained that Murray did a terrible thing and that his 4-year involuntary manslaughter sentence was not enough. He had a conversation with me during the day of Michael’s passing and um how he tried to console the children and me. That didn’t happen.

I don’t know where that came from. I didn’t even know who Dr. Murray was and they had never met him until someone at the hospital told me later that that’s Dr. Murray. But the lies that they were telling, I think everybody could see that they were lies. because um they didn’t have a leg to stand on because Dr.

Murray, no matter how you cut it, he was guilty of Michael’s death. She also stated that while Murray may not have intentionally killed Michael, he knew better and acted with gross negligence, noting that Michael would still be alive if Murray had been there when he stopped breathing. I don’t think he intended for it to happen, but he was negligent.

He knew it might happen at any time or it might not happen, but you don’t take chances. And this is what he did. I think he lied about the 2 minutes. I’m sure he did, but it was much longer than that. Then he was talking to his girlfriends on the phone. This is terrible. Dr. Murray’s lawyers was trying to say that Michael um injected himself or when they couldn’t pass on that lie then they tried to say that u it was his fault and they tried to say that he had something had given himself what herzan or something

like that but they were trying anything to help their client. Catherine recalled Michael as a child who was naturally drawn to music and dancing. She remembered him dancing in her arms as a baby and later finding him dancing beside the washing machine as he sucked on his bottle. She also revealed she still misses him.

I sit in that house sometimes and I can see Michael running around in it and when the kids used to go to school and he was home and he would find their shoes just a little thing and find little big shoes of Jackie or somebody’s and just walk around in them. You know how little kids like to walk around and I can see him in my mind’s eye and just bring tears to my eyes because all the kids are here but him.

And now that we’ve coming back and he’s the only one that can’t come back. After his death, that personal memory became even more important to her. Catherine said she thought about Michael everyday and wanted people to remember the loving person behind the headlines and controversies.

For Catherine, Michael Jackson was never just the king of pop. He was always her baby, her son. They took all this to bring us back here, Michael. Oh, well. Well, thank you. At least 4300 Jeff is always home. Janet Jackson has also shared the last memories she had with Michael. She vividly remembers the last time she saw him.

It was just 2 days before her birthday. She looked at him and said she loved him. She never guessed it would be her final chance to say it to his face. Since then, she has opened up about a truth we all eventually face. Even when it hurts, you must find a way to keep going. The last time you saw Michael was around your birthday. 2 days before my birthday.

Did you tell him you love him? Do the last thing you said to one another. It was. Yeah. And said, “I love you.” He says, “I love you too, Doc.” Uh, you wrote, “I can’t describe our pain in losing our brother or the pain of his children and losing their father or the pain of my parents and losing their son.

I still have not seen the film This Is It. I still can’t watch any of his videos, listen to his music. I’m certain that one day I’ll again be able to enjoy the miraculous sound of his voice and the marvelous sight of his dancing. But that day has not yet arrived. The morning continues.” Where are you in that process, Janet? At this point, actually, since I’ve I finally was able to in Paris and it was one of those uh one of those moments at some point you you have to you have to move on.

Janet thinks about Michael every single day. Her sadness has not gone away. But it has changed over time. Right after he died, everything happened so fast. She did not even have the time to stop and cry. She had to stay strong for her family in public instead of just being a grieving sister.

She said that moving forward never means forgetting the person you lost. And trying to do that and it being really difficult and there’s still not a day that goes by where I don’t think about him. Not one day. Not one day. and uh kind of pushing myself, forcing myself to a certain degree to to get over this cuz it’s it’s not the healthiest debilitating emotionally.

Yes, very much so. And I just spent the night just watching all his videos, listening to his music and and there were moments when I I felt to cry and moments that make me laugh and it was it was good for me. I needed it. I guess in every out of everyone in my family, I never had that moment to to cry about his his death.

Why? Why didn’t you have that moment? I don’t know if it was trying to shield the pain or just trying to hold it all together because I saw that everyone else around me was falling apart and never never taking that moment to to really grieve really grieve even at the service. Grief is never a straight line. It has no final end point.

It simply becomes a weight you learn to carry differently. You find new strength as you walk through the darkest days. The pain changes from a sharp sting into a quiet, lasting bond. For Janet Jackson, healing does not mean letting go of the person you lost. It means learning to live with their memory as you take each new step.

That night in Paris, did you really grieve? There’s more to come. I know there’s more to come. But for now, yeah, I did. The year had passed and I hadn’t. It’s almost in its own way, but on a different level reminiscent of you as a kid and holding everything in and holding everything in and eventually eventually releasing it.