Joseph Fiennes regrets playing Michael Jackson in Sky series
In an unaired Sky’s Urban Myths series episode, actor Joseph Fiennes portrayed the deeply controversial pop figure, Michael Jackson. Looking back on the episode from 2017, Fiennes now realises that portraying the artist was a “bad mistake”.
Having previously starred in films like the Oscar-winning Shakespeare In Love and Enemy at the Gates, Fiennes agreed to play the ‘Thriller’ singer but ultimately came under a lot of fire, and both himself and the episode received a huge backlash.
Speaking to The Guardian six years later, Fiennes stated: “I think people are absolutely right to be upset. And it was a wrong decision. Absolutely. There are producers, broadcasters, writers, directors, all involved in these decisions”.
Taking accountability for the casting, the actor emphasised his role in the decision. “But obviously, if I’m upfront, I have become the voice for other people,” he said. “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”.
The episode, which was titled ‘Elizabeth, Michael and Marlon’, showed a cross-country road trip that Jackson reportedly took with actors Marlon Brandon and Elizabeth Taylor shortly after the 9/11 attacks. Brian Cox portrayed Brando and Stockard Channing played Taylor, both of which were appropriate casting. For Jackson, who was a Black man, casting Fiennes in the role was deemed entirely unacceptable.
Director Ben Palmer defended the decision at the time, praising Fiennes’ performance as “really sweet, nuanced and beautiful”. Fans, however, were not pleased, particularly Jackson’s own daughter, Paris, who said: “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”.
With regard to the casting of a white actor as a Black man, despite Jackson’s own infamous bleached-white skin, The Guardian noted how the episode was “possibly the only time an actor could be accused of both blackface and whiteface at the same time”, referring to the make-up used to make Fiennes’ skin even lighter.
The controversy was doubled two years later, in 2019, after the release of the Netflix documentary Leaving Neverland, which highlighted the troubling rumours surrounding Jackson’s misconduct. In light of the sexual abuse and child molestation accusations, a positive portrayal of the singer seemed to be in even worse taste.
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