had kept exotic pets such as a giraffe and a chimpanzee named Bubbles that resided at his family estate in .
Showbiz
Update on Michael Jacksons pet chimp Bubbles
Michael Jackson had kept exotic pets such as a giraffe and a chimpanzee named Bubbles that resided at his family estate in California.The King of Pop adopted th...
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The King of Pop adopted the chimp from a research facility in in the 1980s, and the animal is now being taken care of at the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, .
Jackson and Bubbles made a number of public appearances together, including when the pair drank tea while visiting government officials in in 1987.
The 43-year-old chimp was on April 24 and notably stars the iconic singer's nephew Jaafar Jackson.
The Center for Great Apes issued a statement to its main Instagram page on Tuesday to offer an update on Bubbles and to clarify whether Jaafar has paid a visit to the chimp after a viral A.I. photo began spreading on the internet.
Alongside a picture of Bubbles, the sanctuary started the caption by addressing 'misinformation' amid 'recent interest' in the chimp.
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Michael Jackson had kept exotic pets such as a giraffe and a chimpanzee named Bubbles that resided at his family estate in California
The 43-year-old chimp was portrayed in the biopic which hit theaters just days earlier on April 24 and notably stars the iconic singer's nephew Jaafar Jackson
The Center for Great Apes added that Jaafar 'has not visited the Center for Great Apes or Bubbles. We would certainly welcome the opportunity to host him for a visit in the future.'
An A.I.-generated image has filtered through the internet and shows Jackson's nephew posing with the chimp.
Jackson adopted Bubbles in the 1980s from a research facility in Texas and the chimp initially resided at the star's family home located in Encino, California; seen in 1987
Jackson and Bubbles made a number of public appearances together, including when the pair drank tea while visiting government officials in Japan in 1987 (seen above)
'His days are spent with his long-time chimpanzee family (Oopsie, Boma, Kodua, & Stryker),' Ragan added.
Before his days at the sanctuary, Bubbles had mingled with other rock stars such as Jon Bon Jovi.
The chimp was portrayed in the biopic Michael which was released in theaters last week.
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However, the director Antoine Fuqua opted to CGI Bubbles rather than using a real chimpanzee for scenes.
Lionsgate told Variety in a statement through PETA earlier this month: 'We have had continuing constructive dialogue with PETA about the portrayal of Bubbles the chimpanzee as a pet.
'This portrayal is simply based on historical fact and is not intended to be an endorsement of keeping chimpanzees as pets.'
Lionsgate added, 'Bubbles is portrayed in the movie using CGI technology and the real Bubbles has been living a peaceful life at the Center for Great Apes sanctuary for more than 20 years.'
The center's founder Patti Ragan recently told the Daily Mail earlier this year that, 'Bubbles is aging gracefully'
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The chimp was portrayed in the biopic Michael which was released in theaters last week. However, the director Antoine Fuqua opted to CGI Bubbles rather than using a real chimpanzee for scenes
Michael officially premiered on April 24 and smashed box office records with a $97 million domestic debut despite backlash for ignoring abuse claims.
Jaafar portrayed his uncle in the movie and notably made his feature film debut with the project.
The biopic additionally stars Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Miles Teller, Juliano Valdi and Laura Harrier.
And globally, the movie opened with $218.8 million and is the biggest opening for a musical biopic, per Deadline.
Michael officially premiered on April 24 and smashed box office records with a $97 million domestic debut despite backlash for ignoring abuse claims
Jaafar opened up about his extensive vocal training in order to sound like Jackson when singing.
'When I was doing all the performances, I was actually singing out live in the microphone on top of Michael's track. So it's a blend of my vocal and Michael's,' the star explained on Today With Jenna & Sheinelle.
In regards to the 'hours upon hours' of training, Jaafar expressed that it 'was not easy' while talking to Lionsgate.
'I love challenges, and I wanted to prove to myself my family and the filmmakers that I can do this.'
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