When the Michael Jackson biopic opened in movie theaters on April 26, 2026, Paris Jackson, the King of Pop’s daughter, was already on screen somewhere else, distancing herself from the Lionsgate picture. Just five days after the release of Michael, which Paris called a film that “caters to the fantasy my dad’s fans are still immersed in”, she appeared in RZA’s One Spoon of Chocolate, a grindhouse-style thriller that opened May 1 in select theaters across the US. But aside from both having the Jackson name attached, the two films couldn’t be further apart.
In One Spoon of Chocolate, Paris plays Darla, the love interest of Randy “Unique” Joneson, a military vet and ex-convict trying to start over in Ohio with his cousin (played by RJ Cyler). Shameik Moore plays Unique. The two are out together when a racist gang, run by the local sheriff’s son, attacks them. They escape by running over one of the attackers, and Unique ends up hiding at Darla’s place while the sheriff hunts for him. The connection between them builds quietly inside that pressure. They get one dance before the film reaches its ending.
RZA wrote and directed One Spoon of Chocolate through his 36 Cinema label, with Quentin Tarantino attached as presenter and executive producer. Still, even with so much talent involved, the film received a mixed reception: 42% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 5.1 out of 10.
Paris Jackson has been slowly making a name for herself as an actress. One Spoon of Chocolate is actually her fourth feature film after Gringo (starring David Oyelowo, Charlize Theron and Joel Edgerton), The Space Between (starring Kelsey Grammer), Habit (starring Bella Thorne), and Sex Appeal (starring Mika Abdalla). She’s also appeared in a number of TV shows in recent years, including Swarm and Doctor Odyssey.
So, it’s a little strange that she didn’t appear in her father’s biopic, especially since her cousin Jaafar was the lead. But according to reports, Paris read a draft of the script for Michael, gave her notes pointing out inaccuracies, and then watched those notes get thrown aside. In a video posted on social media, Paris expressed her frustration with being completely ignored. In fact, when actor Colman Domingo, who plays Joe Jackson in the film, told People magazine that Paris had been gracious and offered significant help during production, she pushed back immediately. “Don’t tell people I helped on a set I wasn’t involved with,” she said in an Instagram Story video and then made it very clear that she wasn’t involved with the film and talked about her decision to walk away.
Her assessment of the film itself was pointed. “A large part of this movie caters to the fantasy my dad’s fans are still immersed in,” she said, “and they’ll be very happy watching it.” She described the script as containing inaccurate information and outright lies, said the narrative was controlled, and was direct about the fact that she could not accept it. Then she closed with something that managed to be both a dismissal and a permission slip: “You’re definitely going to be obsessed with this damn movie, so go watch it, enjoy it, do whatever you want, just don’t drag me into it.”
And she’s lived up to her word. Paris has been absent from the red carpet events, which were all attended by her brothers. And she hasn’t been involved with the film at all. In fact, it seems she spent that energy focusing on her own career and her own films.
Unfortunately, RZA’s One Spoon of Chocolate was totally overshadowed by Michael, which is nearing a billion dollars at the box office. But, somewhere, Paris Jackson is probably not losing sleep over any of this.
