Actress Adele James, who stars as Cleopatra in the Netflix docuseries "Queen Cleopatra," addressed the colorism controversy surrounding her casting in a recent podcast appearance. Egyptian officials have criticized the biracial actress's portrayal of the ruler of Egypt's Ptolemaic Kingdom. James dismissed the criticism, saying "blackwashing isn't a thing" and that people who feel threatened by Blackness are "self-loathing." The series is part of Jada Pinkett Smith's "African Queens" franchise and intentionally depicts Cleopatra as of mixed ethnicity to reflect theories about her possible Egyptian ancestry and the multicultural nature of Ancient Egypt.
Adele James, star of Netflix's "Queen Cleopatra," dismisses the backlash from Egyptian nationals and their government towards the docuseries' race-swapping of their history, stating that "blackwashing isn't a thing." She believes that the response is based on self-hatred and racism. James defends the series' race-swapping, claiming that the response from the Egyptian people is "100% fundamentally rooted in racism, which is a very modern ideology." "Queen Cleopatra" is now streaming on Netflix.
Adele James, who plays Queen Cleopatra in Netflix's docuseries, has responded to the controversy surrounding the portrayal of the Egyptian ruler as dark-skinned. The British actress dismissed the idea of "blackwashing" and said it was sad that people felt the need to separate Egypt from the rest of the continent. The producers of the series intentionally cast James, who is of mixed heritage, to reflect theories about Cleopatra's possible Egyptian ancestry and the multicultural nature of ancient Egypt. The biopic, part of a documentary series from Jada Pinkett Smith, explores the lives of prominent African queens.
The executive producer of Netflix's Queen Cleopatra docu-drama, Jane Root, has defended the casting of Adele James, an actor of mixed heritage descent, in the title role, stating that it reflects the "multicultural nature of ancient Egypt." The series has faced criticism from the Egyptian government, which insists that the ancient queen was likely of Greek descent and would have been fair-skinned. Root said academics have "long debated Cleopatra's exact parentage," and the show decided to depict her as of mixed heritage to reflect these theories and the multicultural nature of ancient Egypt.
The upcoming Netflix series "Queen Cleopatra," narrated by Jada Pinkett Smith, has sparked controversy over the casting of Adele James, who is of mixed heritage, as the iconic Egyptian ruler. Some people in Egypt and elsewhere argue that it is historically inaccurate for a Black woman to play the role. However, historians have debated the precise ancestry and race of Cleopatra, who ruled Egypt for 21 years. The show's director defended the decision to cast James, stating that it is more likely that Cleopatra looked like her than Elizabeth Taylor, who famously played the role in the 1963 movie.
Director Tina Gharavi responds to criticism of casting Black actress Adele James as Queen Cleopatra in the upcoming Netflix series, stating that James looks more like the historical figure than Elizabeth Taylor ever did. Gharavi explains that her team aimed to make up for the inaccuracies of previous films that depicted the Egyptian queen as white. The producers of Queen Cleopatra have stated that her ethnicity is not the focus of the show, but they intentionally depicted her as of mixed ethnicity to reflect theories about her possible Egyptian ancestry and the multicultural nature of ancient Egypt.
Netflix's upcoming docudrama "Queen Cleopatra" is causing controversy in Egypt as British actor Adele James, who is of mixed heritage, plays the first-century Egyptian ruler as a queen with African roots. Egyptian academics claim that Cleopatra was of European descent and not Black. An Egyptian lawyer has reportedly filed a complaint demanding that legal measures are taken to block Netflix outright in Egypt, to prevent the show from airing. The controversy over how Cleopatra is represented on screen is not new.
