Paris Jackson Offended By Joseph Fiennes’ ‘Shameful Portrayal’ Of Her Late Father Michael


Michael Jackson’s daughter, Paris Jackson, is none too pleased by Joseph Fiennes’ “shameful portrayal” of her late father in the upcoming television movie called Urban Myths. Jackson was so offended by the portrayal that she claims that “it honestly makes me want to vomit,” as reported by Entertainment Weekly.

Fans expressed their displeasure upon seeing Fiennes portrayal of Jackson when the first trailer for Urban Myths was released on Tuesday.

Paris Jackson expressed her displeasure for the portrayal when she was asked about it on Twitter.

“I’m so incredibly offended by it, as I’m sure plenty of people are as well,” Paris wrote. “And it honestly makes me want to vomit.”

https://twitter.com/ParisJackson/status/819310838708256769

Joseph Fiennes, a British white actor who appeared in films such as Shakespeare in Love and Elizabeth was cast by production company Sky Arts to play the role of the musical icon for their half-hour special, Urban Myths, which is based on an alleged trip Michael Jackson took with Elizabeth Taylor (Stockard Channing), and Marlon Brando (Brian Cox) from New York to Los Angeles in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks back in 2001.

“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,” Paris wrote in a follow-up tweet.

https://twitter.com/ParisJackson/status/819312995310260224

“Where is the respect? They worked through blood sweat and tears for ages to create such profound and remarkable legacies. Shameful portrayal,” Jackson added. “He made a point of it plenty of times to express his pride in his roots. He would never have wanted this.”

https://twitter.com/ParisJackson/status/819313438358847489

Sofia Richie (L) and Paris Jackson attend the 18th Annual Post-Golden Globes Party. [Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]
Sofia Richie (L) and Paris Jackson attend the 18th Annual Post-Golden Globes Party.
[Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]

Taj Jackson, Paris’ cousin and son of Michael’s brother Tito Jackson, also took to Twitter to express his disgust for the disrespectful portrayal of someone he considers family, as previously reported by E! News.

“Unfortunately this is what my family has to deal with. No words could express the blatant disrespect,” he wrote.

As revealed by Sky Arts, Urban Myths is a collection of stories that “have been passed down over time and have now become part of urban folklore.” Whether the stories are true or not is up for the viewers to decide as the production company say that they are taking a “slightly tongue in cheek, mischievous — and deliberately ambiguous — look at what might have happened.

A petition to boycott Urban Myths has been set up on the website Care 2.

“It’s easy to see why the story would make a compelling film – but it’s harder to understand why the actor best known for his role in Shakespeare In Love was the first choice to play one of the world’s most iconic black musicians,” the petition states.

The petition points out that casting a white man to play the role of Michael Jackson is distasteful and offensive, not just because the pop icon was a black man but because he suffered a skin condition called vitiligo that caused the lightening of his skin.

“This casting is an insult to the very real professional struggles and health issues Jackson dealt with during his lifetime,” the petition added.

“It’s bad enough when actors of colour are denied opportunities to play fictional characters of their own ethnicity due to the preferential treatment of white actors.”

“But it’s absolutely inexcusable for a film to whitewash a movie based on an actual human being, whether his appearance was typical of what we expect a black man to look like or not.”

Sky Arts left People with a statement addressing the controversy surrounding Fiennes’ casting as Michael Jackson.

“It is part of a series of comedies about unlikely stories from arts and cultural history. Sky Arts gives producers the creative freedom to cast roles as they wish, within the diversity framework which we have set.”

Fiennes defended the casting choice last year, telling Rolling Stone magazine that “I deal in imagination, so I don’t think imagination should have rules stamped on them.”

Urban Myths is scheduled to air on January 19 on Sky Arts.

[Featured Image by John Sciulli/Getty Images]

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