You peeped this new Urban Myths trailer yet? We knew this trailer was coming, yet the final product is somehow even more cringe-inducing than we could have imagined. Following an outpouring of disapproval surrounding last year's announcement that Joseph Fiennes would be portraying Michael Jackson in Sky Arts' satirical Urban Myths series, the world got its first peek at what exactly that looks like Tuesday night:
Urban Myths, which debuts in the U.K. on Jan. 19, is described byDeadline as a "believe-it-or-not stories" series that will dedicate 30 minutes to an alleged post-9/11 road trip involving Jackson, Marlon Brando, and Elizabeth Taylor. Fiennes addressed the controversy surrounding his casting last January, tellingEntertainment Tonight he was "as shocked as you" to be playing the King of Pop. "[Jackson] definitely had an issue—a pigmentation issue—and that's something I do believe," he said. "He was probably closer to my color than his original color." The portrayal, he added, is a "light comedy look" and "not in any way malicious."
And that's the end of this story! Just kidding. Fiennes' portrayal, of course, has received exactly the response that everyone involved with Urban Myths should have seen coming: a collective cry of "Um, NO THANKS."
Question: Who thought this was a good idea?
On Wednesday afternoon, Michael’s daughter Paris weighed in, saying that the film insulted not just her father, but also Elizabeth Taylor.
