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The initial confusion over the decision to cast British actor Joseph Fiennes, who is White, as Michael Jackson in an episode of the upcoming satirical series <em>Urban Myths </em>should have been a sign that this was all a bad idea. But after releasing the trailer for the show and even receiving an eloquent tongue-lashing from the King of Pop's family, particularly daughter Paris Jackson, the episode in question has been trashed.
[caption id="attachment_782472" align="aligncenter" width="1068"]<img src="http://madamenoire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Joseph-Fiennes-PF.jpg" alt="Joseph Fiennes" width="1068" height="600" class="size-full wp-image-782472" /> Actor Joseph Fiennes[/caption]
Sky Television, which is the broadcast company that will show the <em>Urban Myths </em>series, decided to pull the episode that features Fiennes as Michael Jackson. The entire series is meant to take a comical look at rumored stories about Hollywood stars. As we told you earlier this week when the trailer was released, the episode "<a href="http://madamenoire.com/781864/joseph-fiennes-as-michael-jackson/" target="_blank">Elizabeth, Michael & Marlon</a>" was to be about Elizabeth Taylor (played by Stockard Channing), Marlon Brando (played by Brian Cox) and Michael Jackson (played by Fiennes) taking a road trip out of New York after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. <em>Urban Myths </em>director Ben Palmer told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jan/10/urban-myths-director-defends-casting-of-white-actor-as-michael-jackson" target="_blank"><em>The Guardian</em></a> that Fiennes's performance is "sweet," "nuanced" and "characterful," not malicious. But following the response from those in Jackson's family, Sky felt it necessary to cut the episode altogether.
In case you missed it, Paris Jackson was pretty disgusted by the portrayal of not only her father, but also Taylor, who was her godmother:
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/TheMJCast">@TheMJCast</a> 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.</p>
— Paris-Michael K. J. (@ParisJackson) <a href="https://twitter.com/ParisJackson/status/819310838708256769">January 11, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/TheMJCast">@TheMJCast</a> it angers me to see how obviously intentional it was for them to be this insulting, not just towards my father, but my godmother liz as well</p>
— Paris-Michael K. J. (@ParisJackson) <a href="https://twitter.com/ParisJackson/status/819312995310260224">January 11, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/TheMJCast">@TheMJCast</a> where is the respect? they worked through blood sweat and tears for ages to create such profound and remarkable legacies. shameful portrayal</p>
— Paris-Michael K. J. (@ParisJackson) <a href="https://twitter.com/ParisJackson/status/819313438358847489">January 11, 2017</a></blockquote>
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In a <a href="https://corporate.sky.com/media-centre/news-page/2017/statement-on-sky-arts%E2%80%99-elizabeth,-michael-and-marlon" target="_blank">statement</a>, a representative for Sky said pulling the episode wasn't a decision they took lightly, but felt was a necessary one. Even Fiennes understands the choice.
"We have taken the decision not to broadcast Elizabeth, Michael and Marlon, a half hour episode from the Sky Arts Urban Myths series, in light of the concerns expressed by Michael Jackson’s immediate family. We set out to take a light-hearted look at reportedly true events and never intended to cause any offence. Joseph Fiennes fully supports our decision."
<img src="http://madamenoire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Joseph-Fiennes-as-Michael-Jackson.jpeg" alt="Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson" width="1068" height="600" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-782144" />
The episode was scheduled to air in April, however, even the trailer has been pulled from YouTube in the hopes that people will forget about it but still give <em>Urban Myths </em>a chance. So if you missed out on it, you probably won't get the glimpse into the episode that the rest of us had. That's probably for the best.
To be clear, Jackson had said in the past that he didn't want a White person to portray him in projects, and despite his changing appearance, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=LuEPnk7irOMC&pg=PA277&lpg=PA277&dq=I%C2%B4m+proud+of+my+heritage.+I%C2%B4m+proud+of+it.+I%C2%B4m+proud+to+be+black.+I%C2%B4m+honored+to+be+black,+michael+jackson&source=bl&ots=V9cHgfE9OO&sig=tH7SzQ_tW_kOK5yqj-eFYQK096c&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiy-bTtyr_RAhWk4IMKHaN_BnMQ6AEIHjAA#v=onepage&q=I%C2%B4m%20proud%20of%20my%20heritage.%20I%C2%B4m%20proud%20of%20it.%20I%C2%B4m%20proud%20to%20be%20black.%20I%C2%B4m%20honored%20to%20be%20black%2C%20michael%20jackson&f=false" target="_blank">he told Steve Harvey in 2002</a> he was proud to be Black.
"I´m proud of my heritage. I´m proud of it. I´m proud to be black. I´m honored to be black, and I just hope one day they will be fair in portraying me the way I really, really am….just a loving, peaceful guy wanting to make wonderful, unprecedented entertainment and songs and music and film for the world. That´s all I want to do. I´m no threat. I just want to do that. That´s what I want to do. To bring joy to the world."
<em>Images via WENN, YouTube </em>
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“Urban Myths” Cancels Broadcast Feat. White Actor As King Of Pop Following Anger From Jackson Family
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