Following an outpouring of criticism, the U.K. channel Sky Arts has canceled the broadcast of a program in which Joseph Fiennes played Michael Jackson. The episode of the anthology series Urban Myths, which would have aired on Jan. 19, depicts a possibly apocryphal road trip taken by Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor, and Marlon Brando just after the 9/11 attacks.
“We have taken the decision not to broadcast Elizabeth, Michael and Marlon, a half-hour episode from the Sky Arts Urban Myths series, in light of the concerns expressed by Michael Jackson’s immediate family,” Sky said in a statement provided to the Hollywood Reporter. “We set out to take a lighthearted look at reportedly true events and never intended to cause any offense.”
Fiennes’ casting was met with an immediate outcry when it was announced last year, and the outrage was rekindled with yesterday’s release of a trailer for the series, which provided the first glimpse of Fiennes’ Jackson. Petitions urging a boycott sprung up online, and Jackson’s daughter, Paris, harshly criticized the episode on Twitter:
Watch the ill-fated trailer below.
