Yesterday, Paris Jackson criticised the new portrayal of her late father in a series of tweets.
It came a short while after the announcement that Joseph Fiennes, of Shakespeare in Love fame and brother of Ralph, would be playing Michael Jackson in Sky Arts' show 'Urban Myths', comprising of celebrity urban legend adaptations. In Fiennes' case, it is the story of the King of Pop, and good friends Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando, driving out of New York back to L.A on 9/11 after all flights from JFK and Newark had been cancelled but only getting as far as Ohio.
Paris, who lost her dad back in 2009, took this to heart.
"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 wrote in a tweet.
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"It angers me to see how obviously intentional it was for them to be this insulting, not just towards my father, but my godmother Liz as well.
"Where is the respect? They worked through blood sweat and tears for ages to create such profound and remarkable legacies. Shameful portrayal."
Now, Sky has announced that it will be scrapping it's Jackson episode entirely after more than 20,000 people signed a petition protesting the show.
In a statement, Sky said: "We have taken the decision not to broadcast Elizabeth, Michael and Marlon, a half hour episode from the Sky Arts Urban Myths series, in light of the concerns expressed by Michael Jackson's immediate family.
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"We set out to take a light-hearted look at reportedly true events and never intended to cause any offence. Joseph Fiennes fully supports our decision."
I think what Paris is forgetting is that a short account of a not-even-confirmed urban legend will not do much harm to arguably the most famous pop-star, actor and actress to have ever lived. Also, that celebrities aren't pristine, superior demigods that should never, under any circumstances, be subject to parody. It's bollocks.
Taylor and Jackson at a charity event in 2000. Image: PA
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The story, if true, is hilarious. You have to be the worst kind of sap to be offended by it.
Think about it: MJ, Liz Taylor, and a retired, no-fucks-remotely-given Marlon Brando cruising from East Coast to West, apparently stopping at every KFC and Burger King at the request of The Godfather legend and much to the annoyance of Jackson. If anything, it humanises and normalises the three, not degrade them.
Credit: Sky Arts
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If Paris attacked the ongoing trend of white actors portraying black characters and people, that would be a fair shout. But in 2001, Jackson's face had long-altered due to vitiligo. It would arguably be more insulting for a black actor to 'white-up' for the role, would it not?
This was is an episode of a Sky Arts TV show, featuring largely comedic accounts of celebrity stories, not a wide-release, brooding biopic. Lighten up, for fuck's sake!
Featured image credit: PA
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Michael Jackson