Michael Jackson’s daughter has slammed a new film about her late father, in which white actor Joseph Fiennes plays the King of Pop.
The one-off ‘light comedy parody’, ‘Elizabeth, Michael and Marlon’, which is part of the Sky Arts series ‘Urban Myths’, follows the alleged road trip the singer took with his friends Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando following the 9/11 attacks.
The short film, which we’ve been given a sneak peek of after the trailer debuted on Wednesday, has already faced criticism of whitewashing because of the casting of a white actor in the role of a black man.
Now Paris has spoken out about the film, labeling it “offensive”.
“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,” she tweeted.
She added that Michael “would never have wanted” to be portrayed by a white actor since he had immense “pride in his roots”.
Other members of the Jackson family have also spoken out against the drama, including Michael’s nephew Taj Jackson, who tweeted: “Unfortunately this is what my family has to deal with. No words could express the blatant disrespect.”
However, the film’s director Ben Palmer has defended his decision to hire a white actor to play the ‘Thriller’ singer.
“We were casting Michael Jackson in 2001 and that obviously is a challenge in terms of the physical resemblance,” he told The Guardian.
“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.
“It’s a really lovely, sweet film. I’m really looking forward to seeing how people react once they’ve actually seen it.”
The ‘Urban Myths’ series will be on Sky Arts from 19 January. Watch the trailer for series below.