‘Queen Cleopatra’ Director Tina Gharavi Responds To Backlash Over Black Cleopatra
etcanada.comThe director of “Queen Cleopatra” is addressing critics. Last week, Netflix released the trailer for the new drama-documentary series about the iconic Queen of Egypt and drew intense backlash for casting a Black actress as Cleopatra.
The series is executive produced and narrated by Jada Pinkett Smith. READ MORE: Gal Gadot Defends ‘Cleopatra’ Casting Against ‘Whitewashing’ Backlash Writing for Variety, director Tina Gharavi, who is Iranian, directly took on criticisms, recalling, “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?” It is not known exactly what the real Cleopatra looked like, and heritage has long been a source of debate, often attributed to Macedonian Greeks, but with some claiming Persian and other backgrounds. “Doing the research, I realized what a political act it would be to see Cleopatra portrayed by a Black actress,” Gharavi wrote. “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.” 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.
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