John Malkovich Cancels Israel Performance After Scandal Over Fabricated Quotes

John Malkovich has canceled a planned trip to Israel next year, where he was due to take the stage, after a PR company hired by the organizers attributed statements to the actor that had actually been written by the company itself.

Malkovich, who is considered one of the leading Oscar contenders for his role in Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine, was due to take part in The Music Critic, a theatrical musical satire created by Jewish violinist Aleksey Igudesman. The performance was scheduled for April 13 at the Charles Bronfman Auditorium in Tel Aviv.

In a press release issued on September 5, Malkovich was quoted as saying that he was “happy to return to Israel” and looking forward to meeting the “warm Israeli audience,” with whom, according to the purported quote, he felt a “strong sense of affinity and solidarity.”

The 72-year-old actor learned about the statements after reading them in The Hollywood Reporter, which had republished them from the Jerusalem Post. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter published on September 8, Malkovich said that “the PR company hired by the Israeli promoter prepared a quote for an article and attributed it to me, even though I never said those words and was not consulted before they were published.”

“I did not say these things, nor were they approved by me, and they certainly do not reflect my feelings. The fact that they were published as direct quotes from me is unacceptable and cannot be justified. Therefore, I have decided that I cannot participate in the performance in Tel Aviv,” the actor said.

The PR company acknowledged the mistake and apologized to Malkovich for “incorrectly” attributing the statements to him.

In his detailed statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Malkovich also sought to distance himself from any possible interpretation of his performance as support for the political actions of any particular country.

“Throughout my long career, I have been fortunate enough to perform in many different parts of the world — in countries where the values or culture of the governments did not align with my own, and before audiences representing different religions and a wide range of ideologies,” the actor wrote. “Traveling to places whose worldview may differ from mine has given me the opportunity to observe, listen, learn, and also to share my understanding of what makes a story good, what makes music beautiful, and how the two can complement each other and help us better understand human nature.”

“My performing in any country, even my own, does not constitute an endorsement of that country’s policies, its actions, or its elected or unelected leaders. Nor do my performances signify support for, or so-called ‘solidarity’ with, any particular political movement, the killing of innocent people, terrorist acts, or any other manifestations of barbarism,” Malkovich emphasized.

The last time the actor visited Israel was in 2013, when he appeared on stage in The Infernal Comedy: Confessions of a Serial Killer.