Michael Jackson’s Nephew Slams Joseph Fiennes’ Casting As The King Of Pop, Calls It ‘Blatant Disrespect’

Like many fans on social media, members of the late Michael Jackson’s family are upset with the casting of actor Joseph Fiennes as the King of Pop.

Fiennes is playing Jackson in a made-for-television movie called “Urban Myths” for the British Sky Arts channel. The film tells the story of a trip Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando took when driving from New York to Ohio after the September 11th attacks. The casting news has been controversial since it was announced last year, but things got even more heated when the trailer featuring Fiennes as Jackson circa 2001 was revealed.

Responding to a tweet from journalist Soledad O’Brien, Jackson’s nephew, Taj Jackson, slammed the film, calling it “blatant disrespect.” Taj went on to say, “Unfortunately, this is what my family has to deal with.”

The problem that Jackson’s family and many fans of the singer have with the casting is that Fiennes is a white man portraying a black man. While Jackson’s skin appeared white later in his career, the “Thriller” singer was still a black man.

Jackson suffered from vitiligo, a skin condition that causes people to lose their pigment. Throughout the singer’s career, his condition became worse and worse, and Jackson would often use makeup to blend his skin and make it appear as one color.

Taj Jackson isn’t the only family member to blast the casting. In a series of tweets, Jackson’s daughter, Paris Jackson, said she was “incredibly offended” by it. “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,” she wrote. Stockard Channing appears as Elizabeth Taylor in the movie.

Paris went on to tweet, “Where is the respect? They worked through blood, sweat and tears for ages to create such profound and remarkable legacies. Shameful portrayal.”

In a statement given to Rolling Stone last year, Sky Arts stated the film is part of a series of comedies. “Sky Arts gives producers the creative freedom to cast roles as they wish, within the diversity framework which we have set,” the statement read.