In 1993, Michael Jackson made clear that he never wanted a white actor to portray him. Now, fans are using those same comments to protest the casting of a white actor as the King of Pop in a British TV movie. As The Grio points out, Michael was answering to a rumor that he wanted a white child actor to play himself in a new Pepsi commercial, which he denied to Oprah Winfrey outright.

That's the most ridiculous, horrifying story I've ever heard. It's crazy. I mean, why? Number one, it's my face as a child in the commercial—me when I was little. Why would I want a white child to play me? I'm a black American. I'm a black American. I'm proud to be a black American. I am proud of my race. I am proud of who I am. That's like you [Oprah] wanting an Oriental person to play you as a child. Does that make sense?

At the time, the world was wondering why Michael's skin had visibly lightened since he was younger. The King of Pop maintained that he had vitiligo, a disease that causes the skin to lose pigment in blotches, and he also told Oprah that he wore makeup to even out his skin tone.

Shakespeare in Love's Joseph Fiennes was recently announced to be playing Michael in the Sky Arts movie Elizabeth, Michael and Marlon. While he says he was just as surprised to hear the news, he defended the casting decision in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.

"[Michael] definitely had an issue, a pigmentation issue, and that's something I do believe," he says. "He was probably closer to my color than his original color."

Meanwhile, Hollywood's own Orlando Jones and Angela Bassett have their own ideas for the casting of Elizabeth, Michael and Marlon.