Netflix sparks fury from Egyptians for casting black actress to play Cleopatra in new show

Netflix has come under fire for casting a black actress as Cleopatra in a new docuseries about the Macedonian-Greek ruler of Egypt.

Actress Adele James is set to star in Netflix’s upcoming docu-series called African Queens: Queen Cleopatra, as the famous ancient Egyptian ruler. 

The series has been produced by Jada Pinkett Smith, whose idea behind the show came from the fact “we don't often get to see or hear stories about black queens".

The trailer for the series was released last week and features claims that Cleopatra was black with “curly hair”. 

One historian asserts in the preview: “I remember my grandmother saying to me, 'I don't care what they tell you in school, Cleopatra was black'.”

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However, the trailer has triggered an uproar from viewers including Egyptologists and those of Egyptian descent.  

Egyptians were reportedly sickened to hear the denial of records that show Cleopatra was Macedonian-Greek.

The ancient ruler was descended from Ptolemy, a general of Alexander the Great, making the queen of “light-skinned” Macedonian Greek heritage.

Leading Egyptian archaeologist Dr Zahi Hawass has since released a statement online saying that “Cleopatra was not black”.

Dr Hawass went into detail explaining: “The film that is coming on Netflix is not accurate and gives wrong information on ancient Egypt. 

“Cleopatra was Greek and she was similar to the queens and princesses of Macedonia,” he added. 

Dr Hawass also cited the appearance of the queen in statuary, and depictions of her father and brother, to argue his case that she was not of black African descent.

According to reports in the county, legal action has also been taken by Egyptian lawyer Mahmoud Al-Semari, who has submitted a request to the Attorney General to have Netflix blocked, in a bid to prevent the controversial Cleopatra series from being broadcasted later this year.

Outrage has also been seen across Twitter as fans vent their outrage at Netflix for the “inaccurate” casting of Queen Cleopatra. 

One user @Stuart_McCabe01 claimed: “Arguably the most inaccurate casting for Queen Cleopatra. 

“The only thing the actress and the Queen had in common was that neither were Egyptian. Cleopatra descended from Macedonians and was never described as a black African woman,” they added.

Another user @LewLewVuitton pointed out: “Cleopatra was of Macedonian and Persian descent. Modern day Greece and Iran. 

“Not sure why Netflix is depicting her as black. Netflix is better off not releasing the movie. Just look at the likes vs dislikes and comments on the trailer,” referring to the outrage in the comments under the trailer. (sic)

The decision to cast a non-white Cleopatra, played by mixed-race actress Adele James, came from the desire of producers to represent people of colour on screen

American actress and executive producer on the series, Jada Pinkett-Smith, previously explained:  “I really wanted to represent Black women.

“We don’t often get to see or hear stories about Black queens, and that was really important for me”

She added: “The sad part is that we don’t have ready access to these historical women who were so powerful and were the backbones of African nations.”

Queen Cleopatra is set to premiere on Netflix on May 10, 2023, in the UK.