Producer of” Queen Cleopatra” Responds To Condemnation Over Black Head and Calls Cast Decision” A Political Act.”

“African Queens: Queen Cleopatra” director Tina Gharavi responded Friday to criticism about casting black actress Adele James to play the titular role.

Her comments come after the new Netflix docuseries caused an uproar in Egypt. One Egyptian lawyer is suing Netflix and attempting to get the show banned in his country. 

Gharavi insists that even though she’s not sure Cleopatra was black, she’s equally convinced that the historical ruler wasn’t white, which is how she’s been portrayed in Hollywood before.

“I remember as a kid seeing Elizabeth Taylor play Cleopatra. I was captivated, but even then, I felt the image was not right,” the director wrote in an article for Variety. “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?”

Most academics concur that the actual Cleopatra’s’s chief blood was Grecian Macedonian when she was born in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in 69 BC. The chairman argued that the” chance of her being whitened” is” somewhat unlikely” due to marriage.

Gharavi added that she was conscious of how contentious the cast decision would be.

Gharavi wrote,” After conducting the research, I became aware of what a democratic work it would be to see Cleopatra portrayed by an African-American actress.”

Why doesn’t Cleopatra make a sister who is depressed? And why is Cleopatra required to be whitened by some men? She enquired. She continued,” Some Egyptians seem to really value her closeness to white because it seems to give her value.”

As they neared production, Gharavi explained how the” scale and democratic nature of this work” became apparent. She claimed that in the end, she is” okay” about Egyptians being” furious” with her.

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So, was Cleopatra a dark person? She wrote,” We can be certain she wasn’t white like Elizabeth Taylor, but we can never be sure.” ” We need to talk to ourselves about our colorism and the ingrained pale power in Hollywood.”

Gharavi ended the essay by expressing her” proud” of the docuseries, which will be available on Netflix starting on May 10.

She concluded by saying,” I am happy to remain with” Queen Cleopatra”— a reimagined version of herself– and with the company that made this,” adding that” never before has it been more critical to have ladies rulers, white or black.”