White actor Joseph Fiennes regrets controversial decision to play Michael Jackson and calls it 'a bad mistake
- Joseph Fiennes backtracks on his decision to play Michael Jackson after initially defending it.
- The white British actor lightened his skin for the role and wore a prosthetic nose.
British actor Joseph Fiennes has a new stance on his controversial decision to play Michael Jackson in a 2017 episode of UK TV show "Urban Myths."
The episode, which was set to air on Sky Arts, centered on a literal urban myth that said after the 9/11 attacks in New York City, Michael Jackson, Marlon Brando, and Elizabeth Taylor hopped into a car and drove out of the city.
When the trailer was released in 2017, it showed that Fiennes had lightened his skin and wore a prosthetic nose for the role, a decision widely criticized by fans, critics, and even Jackson's family.
Finneas said in a recent interview with The Guardian that the decision to play the King of Pop was a "bad mistake."
"I think people are absolutely right to be upset," Fiennes began. "And it was a wrong decision. Absolutely."
"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 added, noting later: "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."
When the trailer was released in 2017, Insider's Jason Guerrasio reported that the clip looked "weird" and that it was "uncomfortable to see Fiennes playing a legendary Black singer."
Paris Jackson, the late singer's daughter, wrote on Twitter that the trailer "honestly makes me want to vomit."
Fiennes' comments come after the white actor initially defended his decision to play Jackson, who died in 2009 at the age of 50.
He told Entertainment Tonight that Jackson "definitely had an issue — a pigmentation issue —and that's something I do believe. He was probably closer to my color than his original color."
Although he did admit, "I'm a white, middle-class guy from London. I'm as shocked as you may be."