A TV comedy starring Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson was canceled after the late singer's family complained to the network in charge.
British broadcaster Sky Arts said Friday it was canceling their program "in light of the concerns expressed by Michael Jackson's immediate family." It said Fiennes "fully supports our decision."
Sky had been criticized for casting the white "Shakespeare in Love" star as the King of Pop in "Elizabeth, Michael and Marlon." The half-hour program also features Stockard Channing as Elizabeth Taylor and British actor Brian Cox as Marlon Brando.
Jackson's daughter Paris tweeted that she felt angry after watching a trailer for the show, which was due to be broadcast next week.
"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," she wrote.
"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."
The show is an episode in the "Urban Myths" series, which Sky says looks at "remarkable stories from well-known historical, artistic and cultural figures, which may or may not have happened in real life."
It centers on a possibly apocryphal cross-country road trip taken by Jackson, Taylor and Brando after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Sky said it was intended as "a light-hearted look at reportedly true events and never intended to cause any offense."
Fiennes defended his casting to The Associated Press last year, saying the project doesn't promote stereotyping.
Because he's white? It's an impossible role to cast, really. I have sympathy for Paris Jackson but her father was a freak and she needs to just accept it.
ReplyDeleteBoo at never getting to see Stockard Channing as Liz Taylor. She looked just like her in the clip that I saw.
Wasn't it supposed to be satire? It had to be.
ReplyDeleteMichael probably wouldn't have minded. But I can see why the family does, if they were not fully embracing of his appearance, other drama aside.
ReplyDeleteSomeone might have consulted the family - there are plenty of them - before the casting was settled.
ReplyDeleteSad it was pulled.
ReplyDeleteIn Michael's big Oprah interview in the 90's he was specifically asked about a white actor playing Michael in a movie. MJ was very clear that he did not want that to happen. Let's say Michael really did bleach his skin because of that skin condition where you have patches of white all over your body & he chose to bleach his skin 1 color.
ReplyDeleteIf it was because of the skin condition & not because he wanted to be white, (as some people have been saying for years,) MJ would still see himself as black. He would have rather a black actor play him & put on a lot of makeup & prosthetics than have a white actor play him.
I love Stockard Channing...
ReplyDeleteAhh the pun of 'in light of....'
God damn it!! I was sooooo looking forward to this---it looked like such a hot mess! I hope it still gets leaked.
ReplyDeleteIt's satire so get over it. Newsflash, Paris...Taylor hated being called Liz, and allowed only one of her husbands to call her that
ReplyDeleteShe should be less worried about that and more worried about people finding out what she did with Macauley Culkin.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason we can dismiss is n-word-facing, because MJ was a cracker, at least talking about skin.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that MJ would have loved the series if it were not awful, he seemed like a child, and he was good hearted. Besides, he liked being noticed, I remember that video of his where there was a huge statue of him at the end.
Michael liked parodies of himself, love the weird Al videos. He did not like the idea of someone white playing him, however.
ReplyDeleteI think the family would have been cool with it if Fiennes had hacked half his schnoz off as even the family knows anyone with a honker like that would be ridiculous as MJ.
ReplyDeleteToo bad. Jacko was a jokey cartoon by the time he died and everyone else seems to recognize that. Maybe it'll leak onto the internet.
ReplyDelete