"Michael" Biopic Sparks Debate Over Whether 2Pac's Film Was The Worst Ever

BY Cole Blake
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Premiere Of Lionsgate's "Michael" - Arrivals
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 20: Jaafar Jackson attends the premiere of Lionsgate's "Michael" at Dolby Theatre on April 20, 2026 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/WireImage)
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The "Michael" biopic will be hitting theaters on April 24, 2026, but it's already being panned by critics.

Amid criticism of the new film, Michael, which details the life and career of the legendary singer, Michael Jackson, fans on social media have been debating the worst biopics of all time. One viral tweet suggests that there is "nothing worse" than the 2017 film, All Eyez on Me, which centers around 2Pac.

Fans on X (formerly Twitter) brought up tons of films in response to the post, including Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B, Bohemian Rhapsody, Straight Outta Compton, and more. "NOTHING. one of the worst movies ever," one user wrote, agreeing with the original post. Another countered: "Y’all act like that Michael Jackson biopic with Flex don’t exist or the lifetime Aaliyah biopic, lifetime, Whitney Houston biopic. Tupac joint was bad but it wasn’t worse than them." One more suggested: "I assume you didn’t see that Bob Marley movie that came out last year then. I got some good sleep in the theater that night," while another wrote, "Naw u trippin, that Biggie Smalls one was the absolute worst of all time."

When Does "Michael" Hit Theaters?

Michael hits theaters on April 24, 2026. It stars Jaafar Jackson, Nia Long, Laura Harrier, Miles Teller, and Colman Domingo. It's directed by Antoine Fuqua and was written by John Logan. Jaafar Jackson is the biological nephew of Michael Jackson and the son of Jermaine Jackson. Michael marks his feature film debut.

Fans Debate Biopics

Following its initial premiere on April 10, 2026, it's been receiving mostly negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, just 36% of 120 critics' reviews are positive, while Metacritic lists its score as 38 out of 100. Many critics complained about the lack of mention of the allegations of child sexual abuse that Jackson faced during his life. Others praised Jaafar's performance as one of the strongest aspects of the film.

About The Author
Cole Blake is a current staff writer at HotNewHipHop based out of New York City. He began writing for the site as an intern back in 2018 while finishing his B.A. in Journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s covered a number of breaking stories for HNHH. These include the ongoing YSL RICO trial, the allegations surrounding Diddy, and much more. His work also extends outside of hip-hop, having written extensively about a myriad of topics including politics, sports, and pop culture. He’s attended several music festivals to provide coverage for the site as well, such as Rolling Loud and Governors Ball.

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