One of Michael's nephews, Taj, also shared his views, saying that the Jackson family has come to expect that level of abuse.
When the news first broke, Fiennes said that he did not believe it was inappropriate for a white man to play the music star, due to the fact that the pigmentation of Jackson's skin had significantly changed by the time of his death.
"[Jackson] definitely had an issue - a pigmentation issue - and that's something I do believe," he told Entertainment Tonight at the time. "He was probably closer to my colour than his original colour."
What Fiennes probably wasn't anticipating, however, was a onslaught of comparisons to the likes of kid's TV character Worzel Gummidge and "a historical battle re-enactment fan who also owns a metal detector".
The new image has also reignited the controversy over the original casting, with many people describing the footage as offensive, and as a worrying example of whitewashing (a Hollywood trend in which white actors are given roles that could have been more appropriately filled by actors of colour).
"I hope it loses every single dime of its budget. Every single dime," said actor Keith Powell, of 30 Rock fame.
The half-hour-long Urban Myths episode also stars Stockard Channing as Elizabeth Taylor and Brian Cox as Marlon Brando, and tells the story of a road trip undertaken by the three stars shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Its director, Ben Palmer, has defended his decision.
"We were casting Michael Jackson in 2001 and that obviously is a challenge in terms of the physical resemblance," he told the Guardian.
"We were really looking for the performance that could unlock the spirit, and we really think Joe Fiennes has done that. He's given a really sweet, nuanced, characterful performance."
The show is an anthology and will have other episodes including Game of Thrones villain Iwan Rheon moving from Ramsay Snow to Adolf Hitler.
This article originally appeared on the Daily Telegraph.
