Joseph Fiennes defends Michael Jackson role as ‘light-hearted’

Fiennes said he would love people to have seen the show
Offensive: Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson
Alistair Foster28 April 2017
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Joseph Fiennes has defended his axed portrayal of Michael Jackson.

He played the late singer in an episode of Sky Arts’ Urban Myths series about a road trip Jackson, Marlon Brando and Dame Elizabeth Taylor were rumoured to have taken following the September 11 attacks.

But it was pulled after Jackson’s daughter Paris said clips made her want to “vomit”.

British actor Fiennes, 46, told Vulture: “It’s a satire, so we have to look at it through that lens. The depiction of the three characters is very satirical, comic, light-hearted, to examine the disconnect of iconic celebrity.”

Defensive: Joseph Fiennes defended his casting
Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images

Some alleged that Fiennes, a white actor, portraying the black singer was a form of “blackface”.

He said: “If it comes anywhere near that criminal and hateful sensibility, then I’m deeply regretful and embarrassed, but there’s a part of me that would love people to see it and get into a discussion.”

Paris hit out at the production on Twitter, calling it a “shameful portrayal” of her father.

In response to a tweet criticising the casting of a white actor, she replied: “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.

“Where is the respect? They worked through blood sweat and tears for ages to create such profound and remarkable legacies. Shameful portrayal.”

The biggest and best TV shows of 2017

1/10

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in