Whether you can believe it or not, it’s been six years since Sky Arts’ decided to pull one of the episodes of their Urban Myths series due to the controversial casting of Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson. Now, the actor is speaking out about his regret in taking the role and how the decision was ultimately made for the episode to be pulled.
For additional context, Fiennes played Jackson in a 2017 episode that saw him, Stockard Channing (as Elizabeth Taylor) and Brian Cox (as Marlon Brando) all reenacting a post-9-11 road trip.
“I think people are absolutely right to be upset. 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,” Fiennes told The Guardian. “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.”
He continued: “And, just to say, I asked the broadcaster to pull it. And there were some pretty hefty discussions, but ultimately people made the right choice.” (We couldn’t agree more, because no shade to you, but this depiction is the stuff of nightmares. A true jumpscare if there ever was one, but I digress.)
At the time, Fiennes defended the role, arguing that the King of Pop had “a pigmentation issue” and that he was “probably closer to my color than his original color.” However, it seems he’s now seen the error of his ways. So hopefully, we can bury this hideous footage underneath the Earth’s atmosphere.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find some sage and Holy Oil to rid my eyes of this travesty.