A single fabricated quote ended John Malkovich's plans to return to the Israeli stage. The Hollywood Reporter reported Tuesday that the actor pulled out of an April 13 performance of The Music Critic at Tel Aviv's Charles Bronfman Auditorium – a satirical musical-theater piece by composer Aleksey Igudesman – after a press release put words in his mouth that he never spoke.
The Sept. 5 release had Malkovich saying he was "thrilled to return to Israel" and looking "forward to meeting the warm Israeli audience once again, to whom I feel a strong closeness and solidarity." None of it, Malkovich says, came from him.
He learned about his own show – and the quotes attached to his name – only by reading THR's coverage, which traced back to The Jerusalem Post's original report. No authorization had been given. The cancellation followed.
THR had tried to reach Malkovich's team first. A message went to his representatives the Saturday before publication; none came back before The Jerusalem Post's story went live.
Malkovich did not mince words in his statement to THR on Tuesday: "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."
Politics, he added, has nothing to do with where he performs: "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."
Blame landed quickly on the publicity side. Hired by producer Alon Yurick, the firm behind the release admitted, in comments THR carried, to "incorrectly" crediting Malkovich: "Mr. Malkovich did not make, provide, authorize or approve this statement, nor was it approved by his representatives." An apology followed: "We sincerely apologize to Mr. Malkovich and his representatives for the incorrect attribution and regret that this occurred."
The Jerusalem Post, per THR's account, moved to correct the record. An editor's note now runs atop the original story: "A statement attributed to Malkovich has been removed from the report after confirmation that it was falsely attributed to him. Alon Yurick, the show's Israeli producer, clarified that the original press release contained an incorrect quote resulting from a misunderstanding and apologized for the error."
Israel is not new territory for the actor. Guest of honor at the 2008 Jerusalem Film Festival, he returned five years later for The Infernal Comedy: Confessions of a Serial Killer, staged at both the Eilat International Chamber Music Festival and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.
THR ran Malkovich's complete statement alongside its report. Nearly two decades of classical-music and theatrical collaborations across 47 countries frame the opening – Tel Aviv, he notes, was only ever meant to be one date among many on a wider European and Middle Eastern tour.
The core grievance repeats there, word for word: "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."
From there the statement turns reflective. Decades spent performing in nations whose politics or values diverge from his own, Malkovich writes, have taught him to observe rather than judge – proof, in his telling, that art and music can bridge divides no argument could settle alone.
His disclaimer resurfaces almost verbatim: "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."
