Kat Graham addresses being cut from Michael movie as Diana Ross

Kat Graham has addressed why she does not appear as Diana Ross in the new Michael Jackson biopic.

Variety confirmed in 2024 that Graham would portray legendary Supremes lead singer in Michael, which stars the late pop star's nephew Jaafar Jackson in the lead role.

In advance of the film's launch on Friday, Graham shared in a statement that the scenes she filmed for the project ended up on the cutting room floor.

"Ahead of the release of the Michael Jackson film, I want to share that certain legal considerations affected a few scenes, including the ones I filmed with an incredible cast," she wrote.

"Unfortunately, those moments are no longer part of the Final Cut, though the team worked hard to preserve as much of the story as possible."

Michael covers the singer's rise to fame as a member of The Jackson 5 and eventual break from his family. It's unclear where Ross may have factored into the biopic, which follows the Thriller singer's life into the late 1980s.

This is not the first legal hurdle the film's creators have had to leap. In 2025, a Puck report noted that the movie was forced to reshoot certain scenes after lawyers realised a clause in a settlement with Jordan Chandler - one of several people who have accused Jackson of sexual abuse in the past - prevented any dramatisation of those claims in the film.

The New Yorker reported that film bosses are considering using some of the unused footage in a potential sequel.

Michael ends with a title card that reads, "His Story Continues."