Photo: WENN
Michael Jackson was in discussions to play Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars films, Ahmed Best has revealed.
Best, who ended up playing the almost universally loathed CGI character in The Phantom Menace, originally referenced Jackson's ambitions in a Reddit AMA last year - but his comments were assumed to be a joke.
Now, in a new Vice interview, Best decribed what happened when he, Natalie Portman and George Lucas went to see Michael Jackson play live in London. "We were taken backstage," he said, "and we met Michael."
He continued: "There was Michael and Lisa Marie [Presley]. George introduced me as 'Jar Jar' and I was like, 'That’s kind of weird'. Michael was like, 'Oh. OK.' I thought, 'What is going on?' After Michael had driven off, we all go back up to a big afterparty. I’m having a drink with George and I said, 'Why did you introduce me as Jar Jar?' He said, 'Well, Michael wanted to do the part but he wanted to do it in prosthetics and makeup like ‘Thriller.''
"George wanted to do it in CGI. My guess is ultimately Michael Jackson would have been bigger than the movie, and I don’t think he wanted that."
Elsewhere in the interview, Best was asked about the racial implications of Jar Jar Binks, particularly with regards to Wall Street Journal's Joe Morganstern, who described the character as a "Rastafarian Stepen Fetchit." He replied, "It just further underscores the ignorance and the blind unrealness of dealing with racism in this country. The lack of education and the lack of exposure to what actually is racist to non-black folks is abysmal. "
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