As the world moves more and more toward trying to be inclusive at all times, there are bound to be instances in which people get upset. Most recently, this happened when Netflix used a black African woman as Queen Cleopatra.
There have been many documentaries that focus on Cleopatra, as she is one of the more famous rulers of Egypt of all time. She is also considered to be the last Pharaoh by many.
When the trailer came out for the upcoming documentary African Queen’s: Queen Cleopatra, it did not strike a good chord among many Egyptians.
Adele James, a British actress, was cast in the role of Cleopatra in this movie, which lists Jada Pinkett Smith as an executive producer.
James is a mixed race and has received a lot of abuse over the upcoming movie. She posted them on Twitter, telling people if they didn’t like the casting choice, they should not watch the show.
An Egyptian lawyer has filed a complaint against Netflix, saying they violated media laws and are trying to erase the Egyptian identity.
Pinkett Smith also had something to say on the subject, saying we don’t hear about black queens very often but it was important for her and her daughter, as well as their community, to learn about them.
Netflix released the trailer and then turned off the comments because of the backlash. In reality, the heritage of Cleopatra is debated but we do know that she was born in Alexandria in 69 BC up from a family with Greek and Macedonian lineage.