White actor to play Michael Jackson in British comedy

King of Pop once told Oprah he'd never want a white actor to play him

News of British actor Joseph Fiennes being cast as iconic African-American pop star, Michael Jackson in upcoming TV comedy, has caused an uproar on social media; fueling controversy in the entertainment industry over opportunities for black artists.

Fiennes, who is white, will play the late "King of Pop" in an apparently real-life story for Britain's satellite TV channel Sky Arts about a road trip across the United States the singer is said to have taken in 2001 with movie stars Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando.

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Sky Arts said in a statement on Wednesday that the 30-minute comedy, called Elizabeth, Michael & Marlon, 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."

In a 1993 interview with Oprah, MJ scoffed at the rumour that he wanted a white boy to play his role in the 1984 Pepsi commercial, saying, "That is so stupid. That's the most ridiculous, horrifying story I've ever heard. It's crazy," reported E!Online.

He explained that he always wants to stay true to his identity as a black man. "It's my face as a child in the commercial," Jackson said. "Me when I was little. Why would I want a white child to play me?

"I'm a black American. I'm a black American. I'm proud to be a black American. I am proud of my race. I am proud of who I am.  That's like you [Oprah] wanting an oriental person to play you as a child. Does that make sense? Please people stop believing these horrifying stories," he said.
https://twitter.com/Toure/status/692372630301708288

Jackson, who had the medical condition vitiligo that lightened the color of his skin, died in June 2009 at the age of 50 after an overdose of the sedative propofol.

News of the casting decision came two weeks after the omission of any actors of color from the 2016 Oscar nominations for a second year that led Will Smith and Spike Lee to shun the Oscar ceremony in February and Oscar organizers to bring more women and people of color into their ranks.

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Stereo Williams, an entertainment writer for The Daily Beast, said the casting of Fiennes was a "symptom of Hollywood's deep-seated race problem."

People took to Twitter to express their discontent upon hearing the news:

A White Actor will play MJ. Because we aren't whitewashed enough in Hollywood, apparently: https://t.co/8ZhjoOzqqq pic.twitter.com/l3y2ZmUabH

— BET (@BET) January 27, 2016

US civil rights activist DeRay Mckesson, a member of the Black Lives Matter movement, was not happy with the casting:

They seriously couldn't find a black actor to play Michael Jackson?

— deray (@deray) January 27, 2016

https://twitter.com/_nicomadden/status/692156513939542018

Congrats to #JosephFiennes for being cast as Michael Jackson in new film. With Queen Latifah as Elizabeth Taylor & Denzel as Marlon Brando?

— Rated PG (@petegitlin) January 27, 2016

Of the various levels of offense here,the one where Michael Jackson will be remembered as a white man,is the worst. https://t.co/wQ0GQE9GG7

— Hend Amry (@LibyaLiberty) January 28, 2016

https://twitter.com/RealLucasNeff/status/692553421287727105
https://twitter.com/DerrickClifton/status/692530142720192512

So-called "whitewashing" has become a contentious issue in the movie and TV industry, highlighted by the casting of Emma Stone as a character of Hawaiian and Asian heritage in the 2015 film Aloha, and the choice of white British actor Charlie Hunnam to play a Mexican-American drug lord in an upcoming Hollywood movie.

Elizabeth, Michael & Marlon, will also star Stockard
Channing as Jackson's late, close friend Taylor, and Brian Cox
as Brando. It is expected to be broadcast sometime in 2016.