Joseph Fiennes Says Playing Michael Jackson Was the ‘Wrong Decision’ and a ‘Bad Mistake’: ‘I Asked the Broadcaster to Pull It’
Zack Sharf Digital News Director Joseph Fiennes expressed regret to The Observer over his decision to play Michael Jackson in a pulled 2017 episode of Sky Arts’ anthology series “Urban Myths.” The episode centered on Jackson taking a post-9/11 road trip with Marlon Brando (Brian Cox) and Elizabeth Taylor (Stockard Channing). Fiennes’ casting as the music icon generated whitewashing backlash, and the episode’s trailer ignited outrage over Fiennes’ lighter skin tone and prosthetic nose to play Jackson. “I think people are absolutely right to be upset,” Fiennes said. “And it was a wrong decision. Absolutely. And I’m one part of that — there are producers, broadcasters, writers, directors, all involved in these decisions. But obviously if I’m upfront, I have become the voice for other people. I would love them to be around the table as well to talk about it. But you know, it came at a time where there was a movement and a shift and that was good, and it was, you know, a bad call. A bad mistake.”