‘Michael’ Breaks Records and BET Awards in the Same Night — Jaafar Jackson and Nia Long Celebrate in Style

Some nights in Hollywood arrive fully formed, when the red carpet, the stage, and the box office scoreboard all tell the same story at exactly the same moment. Sunday, June 28 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles was one of those nights for the cast of ‘Michael,’ the Antoine Fuqua-directed biopic that has become one of the most astonishing commercial stories of the year.

Jaafar Jackson and Nia Long arrived together on the red carpet of the BET Awards, held at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, with Jaafar wearing a navy outfit and Nia donning a silk brown dress. The two co-stars, who play nephew and aunt in real life and son and mother on screen, drew immediate attention as representatives of a film that has been rewriting box office history week after week since its release.

The same day as the awards show, ‘Michael’ officially surpassed Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ as the highest-grossing biopic of all time after pulling in $977 million worldwide, according to a report from Variety. The timing was almost theatrical. The film had also already outpaced ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ to claim the title of biggest musical biopic ever made, with the Lionsgate and Universal co-production setting records across multiple markets.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, ‘Michael’ chronicles the performer’s journey from the Jackson 5 to his status as the King of Pop, with Jaafar Jackson, the singer’s real-life nephew, portraying Michael Jackson in his acting debut alongside Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson and Nia Long as Katherine Jackson. The film has not been without controversy, with some critics noting it sidesteps the child sexual abuse allegations leveled against Michael Jackson during his lifetime. But commercially, the numbers have proven impossible to ignore.

Jaafar Jackson and Nia Long took to the stage at the BET Awards to present the first award of the evening, receiving a warm round of applause as they represented the film’s cast. Before announcing the winner, they paused to speak directly to the audience.

Addressing the crowd at the Peacock Theater, Jaafar said, “We’re so grateful for the love you all showed to our movie. You guys have the theaters packed. We’re truly so humbled. Your support means the world to the Jackson family.” It was a moment that landed with particular weight given what had been announced just hours earlier about the film’s record-breaking global gross.

Long followed with a tribute that captured the emotional core of what playing Katherine Jackson had meant to her. Speaking to Deadline, she said from the stage, “Portraying Katherine Jackson reminded me that grace is quiet and still, and tonight we honor that. Jaafar, it was an honor watching you transform into your uncle right before our eyes.” The line landed as one of the evening’s most quietly affecting moments.

Long’s warmth toward Jaafar Jackson has been evident since the film’s release, and the red carpet only deepened that impression. Speaking to PEOPLE magazine at the event, Long spoke about the experience of watching Jaafar perform as his uncle on set, saying, “I met Michael, so I’m watching him in the scenes and I’m like, I don’t want to say anything ’cause you don’t want to throw off your fellow actor, but I’m blown away.” She added, “That’s my baby for life. He has another mama whether he likes it or not.”

The pair presented the Best Male R&B / Pop Artist award at the ceremony, which went to Leon Thomas. Their joint appearance was one of several notable moments from a night that also featured Janet Jackson presenting the Icon of the Year award to Teyana Taylor and comedian Druski making his debut as host of the show.

The road to this milestone was not always smooth. Lionsgate was forced to undertake $50 million in reshoots after the Jackson estate identified a key issue with a plot point in the screenplay, adding significant cost and delay to the production. That the film emerged from those complications to become the most commercially successful biopic in cinema history is a story that would be hard to script.

With ‘Michael’ still running in theaters and audience enthusiasm showing no signs of fading, the conversation about a potential sequel has already begun circling the industry. For one night at least, the focus was simply on celebrating what had already been achieved, and doing it with the King of Pop’s family right there on stage to share the moment.

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