As one of the most famous people of the modern era, Michael Jackson was inevitably going to be the source of several biographical projects following his passing in June of 2009.
There is a biopic in the works that comes with the blessing of the late King of Pop’s estate, with his nephew Jaafar Jackson playing the lead role to ensure the project is going to be dogged by nepotism every step of the way. There was another actor who tried their hand at bringing the headline-grabbing musician to life in live-action – a white British dude, no less – and it did not go down well.
Alongside Brian Cox’s Marlon Brando and Stockard Channing’s Elizabeth Taylor, Joseph Fiennes was buried under makeup to star as Jackson in an episode of Sky Arts drama Urban Myths, which was then inevitably pulled after widespread backlash and outrage. Six years on from the infamous incident, Fiennes has gone full Captain Obvious and admitted it was the wrong call in an interview with The Observer.
“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. 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. 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.”
Of course, that’s not what he said at the time, when he claimed that “he was probably closer to my color than his original color,” but there’s a reason why hindsight is always 20/20.