Joseph Fiennes controversially portrayed the King of Pop in an episode of the British anthology series “Urban Myths” from 2016.
Joseph Fiennes considers playing Michael Jackson, the most contentious role of his career.
The British actor, 53, played the late King of Pop in an episode of the anthology series Urban Myths: A Brand New Collection of TV Comedies from 2016, where he was joined by Brian Cox as Marlon Brando and Stockard Channing as Elizabeth Taylor as they set out on a road trip after the 9/11 attacks.
In an interview with The Observer on Sunday, Fiennes discussed his on-camera job and said, “It was a poor decision.
“I’m one part of that — there are producers, broadcasters, writers, and directors, all involved in these decisions,” he remarked.
But if I’m being honest, it’s clear that I’ve taken on the role of speaking for others. They should also be seated at the table with us so we can discuss it. However, it happened at a time when there was a movement and a transition, which was positive, and it was, you know, a poor decision. a poor choice.
When it was revealed in 2016 that Fiennes will play Jackson in the comic series that recreates fictitious celebrity stories, there was fury.
Paris Jackson, the daughter of the music legend, wrote, “It honestly makes me want to puke… I’m upset by how plainly malicious their behavior was in treating my godmother Liz and my father with such contempt.
When a preview for the Urban Myths episode appeared, Soledad O’Brien added her voice to the discussion about Fiennes’ choice in roles. The broadcaster wrote, “I woke up thinking it was going to be a great day, and then I remembered this is someone’s idea of Michael Jackson.
At the time, the program was “part of a series of comedies about unlikely stories from arts and cultural history,” according to a statement from the production company Sky Arts to PEOPLE. Within the parameters we’ve established for diversity, Sky Arts offers creators the artistic leeway to cast characters however they see fit.
But after that, the network removed the contentious episode. In 2017, Sky Arts tweeted, “This decision was made in light of the concerns expressed by Michael Jackson’s immediate family.” We didn’t mean to offend anyone; our goal was to look humorously at allegedly factual incidents. Joseph Fiennes concurs wholeheartedly with our choice.
I’m a white, middle-class person from London,” the Emmy-nominated Handmaid’s Tale actor had said to Entertainment Tonight in 2016 when asked about the casting choice. Fiennes observed of Jackson’s skin tone, which the singer subsequently claimed was a result of the skin condition vitiligo, “he was probably closer to my color than his original color.”
The actor now regrets the entire situation when he looks back on it. Fiennes told The Observer, “I think people are quite right to be furious. “I requested that the broadcaster pause it. People finally made the right decision, despite some quite heated discussions.
