The ‘Cleopatra’ Complex: Netflix Made Its Lead Actress Black, Leading To Egyptian Outrage

The life of Cleopatra VII Philopator, Queen of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, is still captivating even centuries after her rule.

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Starting from the young age of 18 up until the mysterious circumstances surrounding her rumored death by suicide at 39, Cleopatra carried on the Ptolemaic dynasty with strength and the respect of her people for just over two decades. It’s probably for that reason and a plethora of others that her life story has been the subject of multiple Hollywood film projects, including one of the first six-reel feature films ever produced in the U.S. back in 1912. The most notable of course is probably the 1968 version with late Hollywood siren Elizabeth Taylor in the lead role.

Yeah, you heard that right: the Queen of Egypt was notoriously played by a white actress whose lineage is of British-American roots by way of London and Kansas. Far from the Northeast African empire that Cleopatra once ruled, no?

Well, it appears the Queen’s ethnicity is the topic of discussion once again following the recent announcement of Netflix’s upcoming docuseries, Queen Cleopatra, ⁠which cast Black British actress Adele James as its coveted lead.

Narrated by Jada Pinkett-Smith, the series will be the first of an anthology that aims to tell the stories of prominent African queens. Sounds great on paper, but Cleopatra’s race has unfortunately made casting her a topic of high debate for as long as many can remember. On one hand, there’s the cold hard fact that Egypt is in Africa, which would make it quite likely that she has some African lineage. On the other hand, she’s believed to have been born to the Macedonian Greek dynasty of the Ptolemies located in Ancient Greece, which some historians believe means she has little to no Egyptian ancestry. Still, many believe wholeheartedly that she was Persian.

The theories surrounding Cleopatra being Black derive from her mother and maternal grandmother, who both were ironically all but erased from the history books. Sound familiar? As the race of Cleopatra gets heavily debated, take a look below at what director Tina Gharavi had to say in regard to the controversy surrounding her upcoming show, via Variety:

“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 Asian’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 Bellucci, and recently, with Angelina Jolie and Gal Gadot in the running to play her — meant we had to get it even more right. The hunt was on to find the right performer to bring Cleopatra into the 21st century.

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.”

The last sentence is an extremely hot take that got many Egyptians talking on social media. With the series set to begin airing in just a matter of weeks on May 10, now’s definitely the time to be having these types of cultural conversations.

Watch the trailer for Netflix’s upcoming docuseries Queen Cleopatra below, and afterward keep scrolling to tap into the great race debate going down on social media:

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