3. In January 2016, it was announced that Fiennes would play the late pop legend in a Sky Arts comedy. The plot is centered on the alleged car ride that Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor, and Marlon Brando took together from New York to Ohio in an attempt to get home after 9/11 (according to Vanity Fair).
And people were not happy.
Joseph Fiennes is playing Michael Jackson? Fab. Now we can all shut up about lack of diversity.
— Shappi Khorsandi (@ShappiKhorsandi)
So Joseph Fiennes (A WHITE DUDE!) is gunna play Michael Jackson… I say Denzel Washington plays Elvis in the next movie just to be fair.😒😡
— Nico (@_nicomadden)
Congratulations to noted African-American actor Joseph Fiennes on being cast as Michael Jackson…
— Scott Mendelson (@ScottMendelson)
7. Fiennes responded to the backlash in February and defended his choice to take the role.
“The decision with the casting and the producers — I wrangled with it, I was confused and shocked at what might come my way, and I knew the sensitivity, especially to Michael’s fans and to Michael’s family,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “This is quite right, why people are up in arms. I’m a full believer in making the playing field fair. When it is fair, we can have a conversation about this project and it wouldn’t cause outrage.”
10. As you can imagine, people are really losing it.
Jesus take the wheel and crash this car.
— Lauren Warren (@iamlaurenp)
Why tf is Ashton Kutcher playing Michael Jackson? https://t.co/oDcYO4Zvwg
— Julie.♡ (@julie_angelic)
why the fuck does michael jackson look like corey feldman? https://t.co/bBOb5VLEFY
— Noctis (@ElEpicoRu)
That looks like Lord Voldemort, NOT Michael Jackson. A mess. https://t.co/TpfBZn1dlm
— 🕊 (@buIIetproofsouI)
Joseph Fiennes playing Scott Stapp playing Michael Jackson
— Stephen Staunton (@stephenstaunton)
Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson looks like that Others parody scene from Scary Movie 3:
— Ross Miller (@rosstmiller)
16. Watch the full Urban Myths trailer here.
Check out more articles on BuzzFeed.com!