The episode of the upcoming Sky Arts series Urban Myths featuring Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson has been canceled after backlash from the entertainer’s family and fans around the world.
There was controversy over the casting of a white actor as Michael a year ago when the news was announced and it all resurfaced when the trailer for the program was released this week.
The 18-year-old daughter of the late pop star took to Twitter to share that she is “incredibly offended” by her father being cast by Joseph in the upcoming film.
“i’m so incredibly offended by it, as i’m sure plenty of people are as well, and it honestly makes me want to vomit,” Paris tweeted.
Joseph is portraying Michael when he apparently took a road trip with Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando after the attacks on September 11, 2001.
Michael‘s nephew Taj Jackson also responded to the newly released trailer for the film tweeting, “Unfortunately this is what my family has to deal with. No words could express the blatant disrespect.”
Fans started a petition to boycott the film. Over 20,000 people have signed the petition to boycott the film for casting a “white English actor” as “the first choice to play one of the world’s most iconic black musicians.”
Joseph Fiennes is going to be playing the role of the late singer and entertainer Michael Jackson in an upcoming segment on Sky Arts’ Urban Myths and the first look is here!
Joseph is joined in the program by Stockard Channing as the late Elizabeth Taylor and Brian Cox as the late Marlon Brando. The story is about the alleged road trip that the three stars went on after 9/11.
Joseph previously defended his casting by saying that Michael “definitely had an issue, a pigmentation issue, and that’s something I do believe. He was probably closer to my color than his original color.” He told Entertainment Tonight that there’s nothing malicious about the performance.
The Handmaid’s Tale is the “story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly the United States. Facing environmental disasters and a plunging birthrate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted fundamentalism in its militarized ‘return to traditional values.’”
The series debuts on April 26 on Hulu! In case you missed it, check out the latest trailer!
FYI: Samira and Alexis are both wearing Sachin & Babi.
15+ pictures inside of Elisabeth Moss, Alexis Bledel, and more of the cast at TCA…More Here! »
The Handmaid’s Tale is the “story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly the United States. Facing environmental disasters and a plunging birthrate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted fundamentalism in its militarized ‘return to traditional values’. As one of the few remaining fertile women, Offred (Moss) is a Handmaid in the Commander’s household, one of the caste of women forced into sexual servitude as a last desperate attempt to repopulate the world. In this terrifying society, Offred must navigate between Commanders, their cruel Wives, domestic Marthas, and her fellow Handmaids – where anyone could be a spy for Gilead – all with one goal: to survive and find the daughter that was taken from her.”
“I have played Michael Jackson. That is true,” the 45-year-old actor said. “It’s a tongue in cheek fun light look at three wonderful characters that we know, Michael Jackson, Liz Taylor, and Marlon Brando and they go on a road trip together. Some say it’s an urban legend. And our story says if it happened, maybe it happened like this.”
There has been an immense backlash to the casting news, as Michael Jackson is a legendary black singer, but casting went to a white male. Michael had a skin condition called Vitiligo that caused a lightening of the color of his skin.
WHAT DO YOU THINK of Joseph Fiennes playing Michael Jackson??
Joseph Fiennes is reportedly set to play the late pop icon Michael Jackson in a movie taking place right after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The 45-year-old actor will star in the Sky Arts television movie that follows the singer’s attempt to get home from New York City after the attacks, according to The Guardian.
Michael reportedly took a road trip with Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando following 9/11 and they got all the way to Ohio in a rented car. The film will be based on a Vanity Fair article about the road trip.
