Black or ‘light-skinned’? Upcoming Cleopatra docudrama sparks off colour war
Netflix’s upcoming docu-drama “Queen Cleopatra”, in which Adele James, who is of mixed heritage, plays the first-century Egyptian ruler as a queen with African roots, is sparking an uproar in Egypt, reports ‘Variety’.
Egyptian academics are claiming that Cleopatra, who was born in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in 69 BCE and belonged to a Greek-speaking dynasty, 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, ‘Variety’ adds. The lawyer claims that the docudrama, which drops on May 10, violates the country’s media laws.
On the choice of casting Adele James as Cleopatra, Netflix’s promotional website Tudum in February quoted Jada Pinkett Smith, the show’s executive producer, as saying that since the queen’s heritage has been the subject of an academic debate, it was “a nod to the centuries-long conversation about the ruler’s race”.
There is no doubt among scholars that Cleopatra was Macedonian-Greek on her father Ptolemy XII’s side. But since the ethnic origin of her mother is not known, some historians say it’s possible that the Egyptian ruler’s mother was African and, therefore, that she could have been of mixed heritage, notes ‘Variety’.
Last week’s trailer drop for “Queen Cleopatra” has caused a stir in Egypt, where Zahi Hawass, a prominent Egyptologist, was quoted by the ‘al-Masry al-Youm’ newspaper as strongly disputing the possibility that Cleopatra was of mixed race.
“This is completely fake. Cleopatra was Greek, meaning that she was light-skinned, not Black,” he said.
Adele James, meanwhile, has taken to Twitter to tell critics: “If you don’t like the casting, don’t watch the show.”