{"id":1523,"date":"2026-04-01T16:02:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T16:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/1523\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T16:02:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T16:02:11","slug":"paris-jackson-accused-of-complete-lack-of-understanding-in-michael-jackson-will-dispute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/1523\/","title":{"rendered":"Paris Jackson Accused of \u2018Complete Lack of Understanding\u2019 in Michael Jackson Will Dispute"},"content":{"rendered":"

The executors of Michael Jackson’s estate have pushed back against his daughter Paris Jackson’s challenge to their spending, saying her objections “betray a complete lack of understanding about how the motion picture industry works,” Billboard<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

John Branca and John McClain, who have managed the King of Pop’s fortune since his 2009 death, filed a response Thursday in Los Angeles probate court defending their stewardship of the estate and their roles as producers on the upcoming Michael biopic.<\/p>\n

Paris, 27, has challenged various expenditures by Branca and McClain this past fall, accusing them of trying to “enrich and aggrandize” themselves through their work as producers on Michael. She also criticized Branca’s casting choice of Miles Teller to play a younger version of himself in the film.<\/p>\n

In their court filing, the executors characterized her complaints as without merit.<\/p>\n

COMPLEX SHOP: Shop the brands you love, anytime and anywhere. Uncover what’s next. Buy. Collect. Obsess.<\/a><\/p>\n

“These meritless objections are a profound waste of the court’s time and, ironically, the estate’s money,” the executors wrote in their Thursday response.<\/p>\n

The co-executors emphasized their track record managing Michael’s legacy, noting their work has generated billions of dollars for the estate, of which $65 million has already been distributed to Paris. Much of that revenue stems from entertainment projects they produced, including the Broadway show MJ The Musical and the 2009 documentary Michael Jackson’s This Is It.<\/p>\n

“The objections complain about the executors’ qualifications to act as producers but seem to be wholly ignorant of the fact that the executors have produced several projects involving Michael Jackson. Those efforts have been wildly successful,” attorney Jonathan Steinsapir wrote on behalf of Branca and McClain.<\/p>\n

In late 2025, Paris Jackson and her legal team proposed adding a third executor to the estate, which is not stated in Michael\u2019s will. \u201cThis is about control,\u201d a source told Page Six<\/a>. \u201cParis\u2019 attorney sees the opportunity. This man wants to take control of Michael Jackson\u2019s estate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The executors noted that This Is It is the highest-grossing concert documentary in history, surpassing Taylor Swift’s 2023 The Eras Tour theatrical release.<\/p>\n

Branca and McClain also defended a 2021 financial settlement with Michael’s producing partner Quincy Jones, arguing it was a prudent business decision made “to effectively guarantee peace with Quincy Jones and his heirs forever.”<\/p>\n

Regarding Paris’s complaints about the estate’s failure to invest in stocks and bonds in 2021, the executors explained the IRS required them to keep funds in escrow due to tax litigation over the sale of Michael’s stake in Sony\/ATV Music Publishing.<\/p>\n

“The executors recognize that they are, by definition, the ‘grown-ups’ here \u2014 that is the whole point of a fiduciary,” the filing stated. “No payment made by this estate, in its 16 year history, has been disallowed.”<\/p>\n

In a statement to Billboard, Steinsapir said, “Ms. Jackson and her attorneys are once again abusing the courts and the legal system by making a series of false allegations as part of a media campaign to distract from their legal setbacks and the inherent weakness of their case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related News\"(L)<\/a><\/p>\n

Soulja Boy Compares Himself to Bill Cosby, Diddy and Says His Trial Was a ‘Scam’<\/p>\n

,<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/a><\/p>\n

This Fan Is Getting Tattooed Weekly Until The Ravens Win A Super Bowl<\/p>\n

,<\/p>\n

\"Priscilla<\/a><\/p>\n

Priscilla Presley Was ‘Very Concerned’ About Lisa Marie and Michael Jackson\u2019s Relationship<\/p>\n

Related News<\/p>\n

COMPLEX SHOP: Shop the brands you love, anytime and anywhere. Uncover what’s next. Buy. Collect. Obsess.<\/a><\/p>\n

Making Culture Pop. Find the latest entertainment news and the best in music, pop culture, sneakers, style and original shows.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The executors of Michael Jackson’s estate have pushed back against his daughter Paris Jackson’s challenge to their spending,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1524,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1465,1466,637,1467,30,500],"class_list":{"0":"post-1523","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-paris","8":"tag-john-branca","9":"tag-john-mcclain","10":"tag-michael-jackson","11":"tag-miles-teller","12":"tag-paris","13":"tag-paris-jackson"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}