Earlier this week, we got our first horrifying glimpse of Joseph Fiennes’ depiction of Michael Jackson in an episode of the British anthology series Urban Myths. The tongue-in-cheek episode centered on a rumored road trip that Michael Jackson, Marlon Brando, and Elizabeth Taylor took after 9/11, and while the casting of Stockard Channing and Brian Cox as Liz Taylor and Brando were inspired, the Internet was not impressed with the depiction of Jackson by a white man, Fiennes.
Among the many who expressed dismay with the casting of Fiennes was Michael Jackson’s own daughter, Paris Jackson. Paris — who also defended her father last year against allegations that child porn was found by police in his Neverland ranch — took complete offense to the entire Sky Arts project.
https://twitter.com/ParisJackson/status/819310838708256769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/ParisJackson/status/819312995310260224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/ParisJackson/status/819313438358847489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Michael Jackson’s nephew, Taj, also expressed offense to Fiennes’ depiction of his late uncle.
@soledadobrien Unfortunately this is what my family has to deal with. No words could express the blatant disrespect. https://t.co/WKCiwOqPpN
— Taj Jackson (@tajjackson3) January 11, 2017
In light of the complaints by Jackson family members, Sky Arts has made the decision to pull the episode, which was due to air next week.
“Sky is not in the habit of pulling programmes but we felt that this was the right decision to take,” said the network in a statement. “Sky Arts puts the integrity of the creative vision at the heart of all of its original commissions, and casting decisions are made within the overall diversity framework which we have set.”
Ben Palmer, the director of the episode, had previously defended Fiennes’ portrayal of the King of Pop, saying that it was a “really sweet, nuanced, characterful performance.” Meanwhile, Joseph Fiennes — who admitted that he “wrangled” with the decision to take the role and understood why people were “up in arms” over it — ultimately supported the network’s decision not to air the episode.
(Via The Guardian)
