The EP behind Netflix’s Queen Cleopatra docu-drama has defended the casting of an actor of mixed heritage descent in the title role, stating that Adele James reflects the “multicultural nature of ancient Egypt.”
21.04.2023 - 10:33 / variety.com
Tina Gharavi Guest Contributor Last summer, I was living in Venice Beach and had decided, due to a friend’s persistence, to visit a fortune teller. Me, ever the sceptic but game for a laugh, agreed to go along. What the fortune teller said made me roll my eyes: “I am not saying you are Cleopatra but somehow you share her story and are connected.” Less than a month later, I got a call from a production company making Jada Pinkett Smith’s “African Queens” and was subsequently hired to direct four episodes of a drama-documentary on the life of the controversial leader. The joke was on me. I 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? With this new production, could I find the answers about Cleopatra’s heritage and release her from the stranglehold that Hollywood had placed on her image?
Born in Iran, I am a Persian, and Cleopatra’s heritage has been attributed at one time or another to the Greeks, the Macedonians and the Persians. The known facts are that her Macedonian Greek family — the Ptolemaic lineage — intermarried with West Africa’s Seleucid dynasty and had been in Egypt for 300 years. Cleopatra was eight generations away from these Ptolemaic ancestors, making the chance of her being white somewhat unlikely. After 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. Doing the research, I realized what a political act it would be to see Cleopatra portrayed by a Black actress. For me, the idea that people had gotten it so incredibly wrong before — historically, from Theda Bara to Monica
The EP behind Netflix’s Queen Cleopatra docu-drama has defended the casting of an actor of mixed heritage descent in the title role, stating that Adele James reflects the “multicultural nature of ancient Egypt.”
music was performed at King Charles III’s coronation on Saturday — is dispelling rumors that he was Meghan Markle “in disguise” at the lavish event.A viral conspiracy theory was spawned at the ceremony at Westminster Abbey on May 6 where the broadcast showed a quick shot of Jenkins, 79, rocking large glasses, gray shaggy hair and thick mustache. Social media watchdogs promptly fueled rumors that it was 41-year-old Markle — who did not attend the coronation alongside her husband Prince Harry, 38 — trying to sneak into the big party.Jenkins posted a video on his TikTok on Tuesday and hilariously spoke out about the conspiracy. “I was quite surprised that some people thought I was Meghan Markle in disguise,” the musician began.“Someone wrote I was there, whoever I was, to steal the crown jewels,” he continued.
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When former EastEnders actor John Partridge took on the role of Julius Caesar in Jada Pinkett Smith’s new Netflix docudrama about the life of Queen Cleopatra, he thought its modern storytelling would stir controversy. But even John, 52 – who has worked in showbusiness for more than three decades – was taken aback by the extremity of views against the new series. In fact, ever since the programme was announced, members of the cast have been sent a barrage of horrendous messages over why Adele James, a mixed-race actress, has been cast as Cleopatra.
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Tina Gharavi is speaking out about portraying Cleopatra as black in the upcoming Netflix mini-series, Queen Cleopatra.
Netflix‘s upcoming docudrama Queen Cleopatra has addressed the backlash over casting a Black actress in the lead role.Casualty star Adele James was announced as the lead of the series in April, but criticism soon followed in Egypt, with many accusing the docudrama of “blackwashing” the country’s history. One lawyer even filed lawsuit against Netflix, claiming the series had contradicted and distorted Egyptian history in favour of promoting Afrocentrism.However, in a new piece for Variety, director Tina Gharayi hit back at critics, arguing “it’s more likely that Cleopatra looked like Adele than Elizabeth Taylor,” who famously portrayed the historical figure in 1963’s Cleopatra.“For me, the idea that people had gotten it so incredibly wrong before — historically, from Theda Bara to Monica Bellucci, and recently, with Angelina Jolie and Gal Gadot in the running to play her — meant we had to get it even more right,” wrote Gharayi.“Why shouldn’t 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.”She continued: “After much hang-wringing and countless auditions, we found in Adele James an actor who could convey not only Cleopatra’s beauty but also her strength.