Cleopatra was “white-skinned”, Egypt tells Netflix amid documentary casting row
Netflix‘s Queen Cleopatra.In the documentary, which is narrated by Jada Pinkett Smith, Cleopatra is portrayed by biracial actress Adele James (Casualty).Her casting has sparked a debate in Egypt, with various figures accusing the docudrama of “blackwashing” the country’s history. One lawyer even filed a lawsuit against Netflix, claiming the project had contradicted and distorted Egyptian history in favour of promoting Afrocentrism.On Thursday (April 27), the antiquities ministry in Egypt weighed in on the debate, saying that Cleopatra had “white skin and Hellenistic characteristics”.“Bas-reliefs and statues of Queen Cleopatra are the best proof,” the ministry’s statement read (via The Independent).Queen Cleopatra, the last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty, was born in 69 BC and died in 30 BC in Alexandria.