The first photo of actor Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson in the made-for-television film, Urban Myths, has been released, and the public, along with MJ's family, are not impressed.
Image/Sky Arts
Jackson's nephew Taj Jackson has taken to Twitter to voice his concern over the casting choice saying, "No words could express the blatant disrespect."
The late pop star's daughter, Paris, has also vented on Twitter, saying “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,” Paris tweeted.
The bio-pic recalls the trip Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando made when driving from New York to Ohio in an attempt to get home in the ensuing chaos after the 9/11 attacks.
Fans are also refuse to accept a white man playing the famous pop star, and have set up a petition to boycott the film.
"It's easy to see why the story would make a compelling film—but it's harder to understand why the actor best known for his role in Shakespeare in Love was the first choice to play one of the world's most iconic black musicians," the petition states.
"While there was much speculation during his life that Jackson 'wanted to be white,' the simple fact of the matter is that Jackson's own words and actions showed that was untrue time and time again. Despite a public struggle with vitiligo, a rare skin disorder that results in the loss of pigment, he identified in interviews as a proud black man, and went out of his way to fight for better treatment of black artists in the entertainment industry."
The petition has garnered over 20,000 signatures, not far off its 25,000 goal.
