It is not too long ago that the casting of Jodie Turner-Smith as British queen Anne Boleyn caused a large amount ofonline complaints of “Black-washing”the role of the historically white wife of Henry VIII. NowNetflixhave faced a similar amount of criticism for their new docudramaQueen Cleopatra, which sees actress Adele James taking on the role of the iconic Egyptian ruler, and depicting her as having African roots which has brought a lot of complaints from the Egyptian people.While there is nothing new about complaints being made about casting choices, changes of race and gender and many other aspects of shows and movies, this particular complaint brings with it a reported lawsuit that demands Netflix be blocked in Egypt completely for what is called a “violation of the country’s media laws” in a new report. This is backed up by the expected wave of backlash from those who believe that the generally accepted claims that Cleopatra was of European descent and not Black.However, the criticism of James’ casting as Cleopatra was already preempted by executive producer Jada Pinkett Smith, who called the casting a “nod to the centuries-long conversation about the ruler’s race”. She noted at the time:
“We don’t often get to see or hear stories about Black queens, and that was really important for me, as well as for my daughter, and just for my community to be able to know those stories because there are tons of them!”
Related:10 Best Movies About Cleopatra, Ranked
Casting On Historical Movies and TV Shows Frequently Turns Controversial
There are plenty of social media storms over the race-swapping of previously white characters in many movies and TV series that involve fictional characters. When the project is based on a figure from history, then this takes on a whole other life of its own. When the trailer forQueen Cleopatradropped last week, Netflix had to turn off comments on the video due to the continuous torrent of complaints it drew over its casting choices. While academics disputed the historical accuracy of the idea that Cleopatra was Black, actress Adele James addressed the comments on her own Twitter account. She said:
“Just FYI, this kind of behaviour won’t be tolerated on my account. You will be blocked without hesitation!!! If you don’t like the casting don’t watch the show. Or do & engage in (expert) opinion different to yours. Either way, IM GASSED and will continue to be.”
Cleopatra has been portrayed on screen my many actresses over the years, such as Elizabeth Taylor and Amanda Barrie, but in recent years the potential casting of the role has brought with it nothing but controversy. Israeli actressGal Gadot was once set to staras the legendary queen in a movie directed by Patty Jenkins, but that idea was hit by calls for the role to be given to someone of the same heritage as Cleopatra over a big Hollywood name. So far, that movie has not moved ahead.
Queen Cleopatrawill no doubt bring a whole new debate when it comes to Netflix on May 10, and for now you can check out the trailer below.
