[imagesource:pixabay]

Following the casting of a black actress to portray Queen Cleopatra, the Egyptian government has hit out at the streaming service Netflix.

Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities has accused the producers of Queen Cleopatra of blackwashing their history by having the biracial actress Adele James portray the queen, which they insist was “white-skinned” based on “Bas-reliefs and statues”.

The fight has been heating up as a lawsuit was filed by an attorney that claims that Netflix and the producers were ‘distorting Egyptian history in favour of promoting Afrocentrism’.

The antiquities ministry stated that Cleopatra had “white skin and Hellenistic characteristics.”

It has even gone as far as birthing a hashtag amongst Egyptian teens. The caption reads:

‘The world can see how much the current Egyptians resemble their ancestors and all of this is thanks to great Egyptian national youth who decided to confront the attempt of African centralism to rob its history and identity..’

📷 | هاشتاج #مصر_للمصريين وصل للعالمية عشان يشوف العالم كم يشبه المصريين الحاليين أجدادهم 🇪🇬 وكل ده بفضل شباب قومي مصري عظيم قرر يتصدى لمحاولة المركزية الأفريقية لسلب تاريخه وهويته.. pic.twitter.com/ngecps9C4A

— وعي – مصر (@W3iEgy) April 29, 2023

Born in 69 BC, Cleopatra was the last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty and died in 30 BC. Her mother’s identity was never known, but Historians believe that she was of Macedonian Greek ancestry.

So far, 8 000 people have signed a petition against the show, accusing the production of rewriting history.

“Afrocentrism is a pseudoscience that is pushing a group’s agenda to claim Egypt’s history and rob the actual Egyptians of it. By using false articles and zero evidence, they are still attempting to falsify history. She was NOT Black. This is in no way against Black people, and is simply a wake up call to preserve the history and the integrity of the Egyptians and the Greeks.”

The doccie’s director, Tina Gharayi, has hit back saying that it was more likely that Cleopatra looked like their choice of actress than Elizabeth Taylor, who portrayed the queen in the old-time classic.

Jada Pinkett Smith is executive producer on the show, but so far there has been no confirmation whether Will Smith will be klapping anybody in Egypt. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Unfortunately, Cleopatra was not available for comment as she is dead and doesn’t care.

Have a look at the documentary trailer below and judge for yourself if her story would be any different if she was white, black, or a Clifton caramel-orangey colour.

Next up, the Jan van Riebeeck documentary delves into his struggles as a Vietnamese cage fighter and non-binary housewife attempting to juggle a flailing mime career and being the first lesbian in South Africa.

[source:decider]