As the first photos of Joseph Fiennes playing Michael Jackson emerge in the upcoming Urban Myths series, MJ’s daughter has lashed out at the project.
Taking to Twitter, the 18-year-old fumed: “I’m so incredibly offended by it, as I’m sure plenty of people are as well, and it honestly makes me want to vomit.”
“Where is the respect? they worked through blood sweat and tears for ages to create such profound and remarkable legacies. shameful portrayal,” Paris added.
Paris isn’t the only family member upset with the show. The late King of Pop’s nephew, Taj Jackson, has also revealed the show doesn’t have his backing.
“Unfortunately, this is what my family has to deal with. No words could express the blatant disrespect,” the 43-year-old tweeted.
Joseph – best known for the film Shakespeare In Love – appears alongside Stockard Channing as Elizabeth Taylor and Brian Cox as Marlon Brando in an upcoming episode of the British comedy series Urban Myths.
The show re-enacts rumoured events in the lives of real people such as Bob Dylan, Muhammad Ali and Samuel Beckett. In Joseph’s episode, the story follows a rumoured road trip that Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando supposedly took in September 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
A trailer for the episode was released earlier this week, and quickly drew a storm of criticism online.
Joseph takes on the challenging role of MJ in the upcoming Urban Myths series.
The late King of Pop’s family are furious with the actor.
However, a director who worked on the show has defended Joseph’s casting in an interview with The Guardian.
“We were casting Michael Jackson in 2001 and that obviously is a challenge in terms of the physical resemblance,” Ben Palmer told the publication.
“We were really looking for the performance that could unlock the spirit, and we really think Joe Fiennes has done that. He’s given a really sweet, nuanced, characterful performance.”
Since debuting online earlier this week, the clip has already been met with calls for a boycott from Michael Jackson fans.
Paris, pictured with her brothers Prince and Blanket, has voiced her disapproval of the show on Twitter.
As for Joseph himself, the actor previously defended his decision to take on a “wonderful challenge” when the news first broke last year.
“I felt this was a wonderful challenge, I read the script and it’s very funny,” he told AFPTV.
“It’s a satire, it’s just a 20-minute satire. It’s a sketch about a story that could have been a legend or could have been true. So we’ll see what the audience make of it.”
“Where is the respect? they worked through blood sweat and tears for ages to create such profound and remarkable legacies. shameful portrayal,” Paris said.
