"African Queens: Queen Cleopatra" director Tina Gharavi on claims from Egyptian scholars that the Netflix series was "blackwashed."
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âQueen Cleopatraâ Director Responds to Racial Casting Backlash
"We can be certain she wasn't white like Elizabeth Taylor," director Tina Gharavi said of casting the iconic ruler. "She was no more Greek or Macedonian than Rita Wilson or Jennifer Aniston."
Samantha Bergeson
âAfrican Queens: Queen
Cleopatraâ director Tina Gharavi is addressing the casting of biracial Black actress Adele James as the titular Greek-Egyptian ruler.
The trailer for
Netflix docuseries âQueen Cleopatraâ caused a stir and
led to allegations that the streamer was âblackwashingâ the heritage of Queen Cleopatra VII. Egyptian scholars claim that Cleopatra, who was born in Egyptian city Alexandria in 69 BCE, was born of European descent and not Black. Historians have confirmed that Cleopatra was Macedonian-Greek on her father Ptolemy XIIâs side but her motherâs ethnic origin is unknown.
Egyptian lawyer Mahmoud al-Semary filed a complaint with the nationâs public prosecutor to request that Netflix be blocked in Egypt due to the promotion of âAfrocentric thinkingâ including âslogans and writings aimed at distorting and erasing the Egyptian identity.â
Two petitions to âCancel Netflixâs âQueen Cleopatraââ circulated with
more than 88,000 signatures combined.
âQueen Cleopatraâ director Gharavi spoke out on the political backlash to the docuseries. Gharavi cited Elizabeth Taylorâs iconic portrayal of the ancient queen in 1963 epic âCleopatra,â which made history as one of the most expensive films ever made at the time, as a direct influence to helming âQueen Cleopatra.â
âI remember as a kid seeing Elizabeth Taylor play Cleopatra. I was captivated, but even then, I felt the image was not right. Was her skin really that white?â director Tina Gharavi wrote in an op-ed for
Variety. âWith this new production, could I find the answers about Cleopatraâs heritage and release her from the stranglehold that Hollywood had placed on her image?â
The Persian-Iranian director continued, âAfter 300 years, surely, we can safely say Cleopatra was Egyptian. She was no more Greek or Macedonian than Rita Wilson or Jennifer Aniston. Both are one generation from Greece. Why shouldnât Cleopatra be a melanated sister? And why do some people need Cleopatra to be white? Her proximity to whiteness seems to give her value, and for some Egyptians it seems to really matter.â
Gharavi speculated, âPerhaps, itâs not just that Iâve directed a series that portrays Cleopatra as Black, but that I have asked Egyptians to see themselves as Africans, and they are furious at me for that. I am OK with this.â
Gharavi confirmed that during production, she âbecame the target of a huge online hate campaignâ with Egyptian citizens accusing her of ââstealingâ their history.â
âSome threatened to ruin my career â which I wanted to tell them was laughable. I was ruining it very well for myself, thank you very much!â she said. âNo amount of reasoning or reminders that Arab invasions had not yet happened in Cleopatraâs age seemed to stem the tide of ridiculous comments. Amir in his bedroom in Cairo wrote to me to earnestly appeal that âCleopatra was Greek!â Oh, Lawd! Why would that be a good thing to you, Amir?
Youâre Egyptian.â
Gharavi gave insight into casting biracial Black actress Adele James as Cleopatra.
âAfter much hang-wringing and countless auditions, we found in Adele James an actor who could convey not only Cleopatraâs beauty, but also her strength,â Gharavi said. âWhat the historians can confirm is that it is more likely that Cleopatra looked like Adele than Elizabeth Taylor ever did.â
She summed up, âSo, was Cleopatra Black? We donât know for sure, but we can be certain she wasnât white like Elizabeth Taylor. We need to have a conversation with ourselves about our colorism, and the internalized white supremacy that Hollywood has indoctrinated us with.â