Oscar-nominated actor John Malkovich has withdrawn from an April 13, 2027, Tel Aviv performance of “The Music Critic” after a press release attributed to him remarks he said he never made or approved.
Malkovich said a public relations firm hired by the Israeli promoter drafted the quote without consulting him and that its publication as a direct statement from him was “unacceptable and untenable.” The planned performance was scheduled for the Charles Bronfman Auditorium, until 2013 called the Fredric R. Mann Auditorium.
The show’s Israeli producer, Alon Yurick, apologized, saying the original release included an incorrect quote because of a misunderstanding. The Jerusalem Post removed the quote from its report.
The Post published the purported quote on Saturday. NBC News reported that it retrieved the original wording through an archived version of the newspaper’s article on the Wayback Machine.
“I am thrilled to return to Israel and look forward to meeting the warm Israeli audience once again, to whom I feel a strong closeness and solidarity,” the quote read. “I hope to find you happy and optimistic! Sending you much love.”
After Malkovich objected, the Post updated its article to include an apology from Yurik.
“I would like to clarify that the original press release contained a mistake, and an incorrect quote from Malkovich was included due to a misunderstanding,” Yurik said. “I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for that.”
The updated article also included a different version of the statement attributed to Malkovich: “I am excited to return to Israel and would be very happy to meet again with the warm Israeli audience, with whom I feel great closeness and identification.”
Tal Spungin, the Post’s managing editor, told NBC News by email that the differing versions resulted from “a discrepancy in the translation of the quote.”
“It was initially provided to our Hebrew-language sister publication, Walla, in Hebrew, and was then translated into English for The Jerusalem Post,” Spungin wrote. “The quote was removed from our report after the production company confirmed to us that it was fabricated, and the wording was amended in our follow-up to better reflect the nature of the ‘quote’ as it was provided in Hebrew.”
In the statement announcing his withdrawal, Malkovich said performing in a country does not signal approval of its policies, leaders or actions, nor solidarity with a political cause, terrorism or the killing of civilians. He said he believes “we need more culture and more beauty in more places, not less,” describing artistic freedom as a means of bridging conflict.
The show was created and conceived by violinist and composer Aleksey Igudesman.
Here is the full statement as published by Variety:
I was made aware of an article which appeared in The Hollywood Reporter (first published in The Jerusalem Post) announcing a date in Tel Aviv, Israel, for a performance of a piece called ‘The Music Critic,’ one of the numerous classical music collaborations and live theatre performances I have been touring in for nearly two decades and which I have performed in 47 countries at last count. The Tel Aviv date was meant to be one of several touring stops throughout Europe and the Middle East.
A PR company hired by the Israeli promoter drafted a quote for the article that was attributed to me, though I never made the statements that were quoted, nor was I consulted before they were printed. I did not utter these phrases, and they most certainly are not approved by me, nor do they reflect my feelings. The fact that they were printed as direct quotes from me is unacceptable and untenable. For this reason, I have decided I cannot participate in the Tel Aviv performance.
Throughout my long career, I’ve been lucky to perform across a quite wide swath of the world— in countries with governments whose values or culture I do not share and in front of audiences of many differing faiths and ideologies. Traveling to places whose view of the world may not align with mine has given me a chance to observe and to listen and learn and to share my idea of what makes good storytelling and what makes beautiful music and how they can complement each other and illuminate the human condition.
My appearance in any country, even my own, does not constitute approval of said country’s policies, nor actions, nor its elected or unelected leaders. My appearances would also not condone nor mean that I am in supposed “solidarity” with any particular political cause, nor with the killing of innocents, nor with any acts of terrorism, nor any other kind of barbarity.
Generally speaking, I believe that we need more culture and more beauty in more places, not less. Art, at its best, reminds us that the exercise of our shared humanity can and should be a tool to bridge our conflicts and our griefs, our grievances and our sorrows, and that the exercise of artistic freedom is often the greatest form of protest against savagery. I look forward to continuing to exercise my artistic freedom, come what may. However, only playwrights, novelists and screenwriters can put words in my mouth, and even then, only in the service of storytelling, and no one else should think they can do that without my consent and without the resultant consequences.
