Congratulations, crybullies. Your era is fading fast, but you can still pull out a win every now and then.
Yesterday I told you about a new show called Urban Myths, which looks insufferably twee. I expressed the opinion that I would not be watching it. But now I want to see at least one episode…
Alice Vincent, The Telegraph (UK):
Sky has pulled an episode of its forthcoming Urban Myths series that featured a parody of Michael Jackson after his daughter Paris deemed the footage “incredibly offensive”…
@TheMJCast 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-Michael K. J. (@ParisJackson) January 11, 2017
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.
“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.”
Note that they still plan to air the episode where Iwan Rheon (Game of Thrones) lightheartedly portrays Adolf Hitler as a struggling young painter. No famous people have tweeted about how offensive that is, and nobody has boycotted it, so I guess it’s okay.
You know, I was pretty upset about a lot of Michael Jackson’s behavior. (Just look at what he did to poor Corey Feldman.) But I didn’t try to ban his music. That’s because I’m not a fascist. I’m not a book-burner. People should be able to decide for themselves.
Sky has taken down the trailer already. They want you to forget it ever happened. Which just makes me want to see it. How long do you suppose it’ll be before some freedom-loving Sky employee puts it on the Internet?
Plus, Brian Cox is good. I want to see his Marlon Brando impersonation. Nobody’s whining about that…
(Hat tip: Martin Daubney)