Lacey Bridges
Not surprisingly, Sky Arts has had to pull the ‘Michael Jackson’ episode of their new ‘comedy’ series “Urban Myths” due to complaints from the late popstar’s family.
… and they didn’t see they coming!? Quite rightfully, young Paris Jackson let the network know that she was deeply offended by what she saw when the trailer hit this week. And why shouldn’t she be!? That’s the very Caucasian Joseph Fiennes playing her father, an African-American man. It was one thing to make fun of Jackson while he was alive, and heck, it was justified on occasion, but after his passing? low.
If the network had cast the Jackson part as appropriately as they the Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando roles (Stockard Channing and Brian Cox some very safe, inoffensive choices), they mightn’t have run into trouble.
Fiennes is supporting the decision to erase the episode from the line-up but one wonders what was even going through his head when he accepted the outrageous offer to play Jackson. If it was a chance to act opposite a couple of greats like Channing and Cox, we’ll accept it, but anything else doesn’t pass the sniff test.
Apparently the other episodes of the series, set to bow this month, will air – just the Jackson/Brando/Taylor road-trip (they’re on a road trip after 9/11) episode is gone.
