On Tuesday, January 26, British newspaper The Guardian announced that the British actor Joseph Fiennes would portray music legend Michael Jackson in an upcoming TV movie, and the Internet went wild.
Fiennes spoke out for the first time since the news broke one day later, on Wednesday, January 27.
“I’m a white, middle-class guy from London,” the 45-year-old actor told Entertainment Tonight. “I’m as shocked as you may be.”
But Fiennes doesn’t think his casting is completely unbelievable, given that his skin tone matches the late pop singer’s.
“[Jackson] definitely had an issue — a pigmentation issue — and that’s something I do believe,” he said. “He was probably closer to my colour than his original colour.”
Jackson, who was 50 when he died in 2009, had a chronic condition known as vitiligo, which lightened the colour of his skin.
Fiennes added that the movie will be a comedic, tongue-in-cheek look at the story of how Jackson, Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor all banded together on a rumoured road trip from New York to Ohio post-9/11. Given that the movie is not a true-to-life drama, Fiennes said, it shouldn’t be taken too seriously.
On Tuesday, social media erupted after Fiennes’ casting announcement, with users referencing it as another incident that adds credence to the recent #OscarsSoWhite controversy.
“Joseph Fiennes can play Michael Jackson. (A real person). But Idris can’t play James Bond (a fake spy for awake agency)? Cool, cool, cool,” one user wrote.
“Read about Joseph Fiennes playing Michael Jackson, and checked the calendar,” “Thought I slept 2 months & it was April 1st.”another tweeted.