Network Will No Longer Air Show Featuring Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson

Mashable reports that Sky Arts will no longer air an episode of URBAN MYTHS featuring white actor Joseph Fiennes in the role of Michael Jackson.

The decision to pull the controversial episode titled "Elizabeth, Michael and Marlon" came just after Jackson's daughter Paris turned to Twitter to share that she was "incredibly offended" by the casting and that it made her "want to vomit."

A spokesperson for Sky arts sent the following statement to Mashable:

"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. We set out to take a light-hearted look at reportedly true events and never intended to cause any offence. Joseph Fiennes fully supports our decision."

The episode has been a source of controversy since January 2016 when it was first announced that Fiennes would take on the role of Jackson in the episode, which follows a legendary road-trip taken by Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando after the 9/11 attacks in New York City.

At the time, Sky Arts sent Mashable the following statement:

"Elizabeth, Michael & Marlon is a Sky Arts comedy which takes a light hearted look at a reportedly true event; Joseph Fiennes is cast as Michael Jackson. It is part of a series of comedies about unlikely stories from arts and cultural history. Sky Arts gives producers the creative freedom to cast roles as they wish, within the diversity FRAMEWORK which we have set."

Earlier this week, Sky Arts released a trailer of the episode which has since been taken down.

Image: Screen shot/Sky Arts

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