Joseph Fiennes expressed regret to The Observer newspaper about his decision to play Michael Jackson in an episode of Sky Arts’ Urban Myths in 2017. The episode focused on Jackson taking a post-9/11 road trip with Marlon Brando (Brian Cox) and Elizabeth Taylor (Stockard Channing). The casting of Fiennes to play the pop star drew strong backlash, and the trailer for the episode sparked outrage over Fiennes’ lighter skin tone and prosthetic nose.

“I think people were absolutely right to be upset. And it was the wrong decision. Absolutely. And I’m part of that, there are producers, broadcasters, writers, directors, everyone involved in these decisions. But obviously, being in front, I become the voice of other people. I would also like them to come out and talk about it. But you know, it came at a time where there was a movement and a shift and that was good, and it was, you know, a bad decision».

The network decided not to air the episode after the backlash, and the production company said at the time: “We have taken the decision not to broadcast ‘Elizabeth, Michael and Marlon’, a half-hour episode of Sky Arts’ ‘Urban Myths’ series, in light of concerns raised by Jackson’s immediate family. We set out to take a lighthearted look at alleged true events and never intended to offend».

Amid the controversy, Jackson’s daughter Paris Jackson tweeted about the episode: “Honestly, it makes me want to puke.”

“And, let’s face it, I asked the broadcaster to take it down,” Fiennes now told the Observer. “And there were some pretty heated discussions, but ultimately people made the right choice».

Fiennes initially defended his involvement in the episode, saying that Jackson “he definitely had a problem – a pigmentation problem – and that’s something I believe. It was probably closer to my color than his original color».