American actor John Malkovich has canceled a performance next year in Israel over a statement falsely attributed to him expressing delight over coming to the country, The Hollywood Reporter reported on Tuesday

Malkovich was set to perform the satirical show “The Music Critic” on April 13 at the Charles Bronfman auditorium in Tel Aviv. In it, Malkovich plays a music critic who pans iconic classical musical composers as some of their works are performed.

A press release about the performance, which was first published by The Jerusalem Post on Saturday, quoted the actor as being “thrilled to return to Israel.”

“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,” Malkovich said in his own statement.

“I did not utter these phrases, and they most certainly are not approved by me, nor do they reflect my feelings,” he continued, calling the developments “unacceptable and untenable.”

“For this reason, I have decided I cannot participate in the Tel Aviv performance,” Malkovich said.

“My performance in any country, including my own, does not constitute an endorsement of that country’s........

© The Times of Israel