John Malkovich has canceled a planned performance in Tel Aviv after the show’s promoters attributed a fabricated quote to him, one he says he never spoke and never approved.
The actor was set to bring “The Music Critic,” a touring comedy blending classical music with commentary on famous composers, to Tel Aviv in April. Ahead of the show, a press release quoted Malkovich saying: “I am thrilled to return to Israel and am looking forward to meeting the warm Israeli audience once again, to whom I feel a strong closeness and solidarity.” The line was picked up by several Israeli and U.S. outlets.
There was one problem: Malkovich says he never said it.
“I never made the statements that were quoted, nor was I consulted before they were printed,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “I did not utter these phrases, and they most certainly are not approved by me, nor do they reflect my feelings. For this reason, I have decided I cannot participate in the Tel Aviv performance.”
Representatives for Malkovich did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Alon Yurik, the Israeli producer behind the show, said the quote was wrongly attributed to Malkovich due to “human error.” He said his production reached out to the outlets that ran the quote to have it removed and corrected, and issued an apology.
“I regret that the incident developed to the point of the performance being canceled,” Yurik said.
Malkovich has performed in Israel before, and has previously said that performing in a country doesn’t amount to endorsing its government or its policies. But the fabricated quote, invoking language of solidarity he says he never used, was apparently enough to end this booking.
A Show Amid Isolation
The cancellation comes as Israel faces mounting cultural isolation abroad tied to the war in Gaza, settler violence and the ongoing military occupation of the West Bank. A number of international performers have declined to appear in the country in recent years, and this year’s Israel Festival, a major annual cultural event, went ahead without a single international act.
Malkovich, a two-time Academy Award nominee, is known for films including “Dangerous Liaisons,” “In the Line of Fire” and “Con Air,” as well as his role playing a fictionalized version of himself in 1999’s “Being John Malkovich.” He appears alongside Sam Rockwell in this year’s “Wild Horse Nine,” about the CIA’s role in the 1973 military coup in Chile.
