MAIL ONLINE 10 MAY 2023 - ADELE JAMES BREAKS HER SILENCE ON QUEEN CLEOPATRA 'BLACKWASHING' CLAIMS AFTER BEING CAST AS THE MACEDONIAN-GREEK RULER IN NETFLIX SERIES
Adele James has broken her silence on claims that Jada Pinkett
Smith's docuseries Queen Cleopatra has been blackwashed.
The British actress, 37, takes on the role of the Macedonian-Greek ruler in the latest instalment of the Netflix African Queens show, which has faced a wave of controversy since the trailer was released.
Director Tina Gharavi recently defended the show after Egyptians reacted with horror to the denial of records which show Cleopatra was
Macedonian-Greek.
An Egyptian
lawyer has filed a case with the country's public prosecutor demanding that Netflix be shutdown.
Meanwhile, Cairo's former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass condemned the documentary as 'completely fake. Cleopatra was Greek, meaning that she was light-skinned, not black.'
Now, Adele has spoken out about playing the ruler in a new interview, revealing that she has even been sent death threats for taking on the role.
'The only thing I can say about it [Cleopatra’s background) is that we just don’t know,' she told Glamour. 'There are versions of Cleopatra that exist already with actresses in that role who are fairer skinned than I am, but I think I have every right to have a shot at humanizing this incredible woman.
'We all put our blood, sweat and tears into that show, and I think anybody else has as much of a right as anybody else to have a go at it because we just don’t know.
'The death threats that I’ve received, the racist comments, it’s just the vitriol. It’s not necessary, and it’s very harmful, all we did was release a trailer and look at the response, so I’m anticipating a wave still yet to come.'
But the actress has vowed to not be driven off social media by the cruel taunts and horrific trolling.
The trailer, released last week, features claims Cleopatra was black with 'curly hair.' One historian asserts in the preview: 'I remember my grandmother saying to me: I don't care what they tell you in school, Cleopatra was black.'
Cleopatra was the companion of Alexander The Great, renowned for her marriages and affairs with Mark Antony and Julius Caesar.
Her first language was Greek although she was the only Ptolemaic ruler to use the Egyptian language.
On Sunday, lawyer Mahmoud al-Semary filed a complaint with the public prosecutor demanding that he take 'the necessary legal measures' to block access to Netflix.
He alleged the show featured content that violated Egypt's media laws and accused Netflix of trying to 'promote the Afrocentric thinking... which includes slogans and writings aimed at distorting and erasing the Egyptian identity.'
Cleopatra was famously played by white English actress Elizabeth Taylor opposite Richard Burton as
Mark Antony in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's historical epic from 1963.
Three years ago plans for a new movie about the queen starring Israeli actress
Gal Gadot sparked a backlash from people insisting the role should go to an Egyptian or African actress.
Gadot defended the decision, saying: 'We were looking for a Macedonian actress that could fit Cleopatra. She wasn't there, and I was very passionate about Cleopatra.'
The fury at Netflix's right-on programming comes after it appeared to have ditched the woke messaging last year.
Netflix took a hit in the first half of 2022, losing about 1,170 million subscribers as rivals such as
Paramount+ and
Disney+ raked them in.
The huge decline was seen by some as a direct consequence of the company's late response to demands from its viewers to tone down their woke agenda.
But after deciding to back figures like comedian Dave Chapelle it bounced back. Netflix added 1.75 million new subscribers for the quarter of 2023, nearly 550,000 more than consensus estimates, and a stark contrast to the loss of 200,000 subscribers the company suffered in the same period last year.
The four-part Cleopatra series will explore the legacy, intellect and life of
Cleopatra
VII, the Greek Queen of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC.
The trailer notes that Cleopatra belonged to the Ptolemaic dynasty but then goes on to dispute her heritage.
The two-minute official trailer uploaded on April 12 has already amassed over 1.9 million views on YouTube.
Netflix's docudrama
BLACKWASHING IN OTHER FILMS AND SHOWS
James Bond (2022) - Talk of casting Idris Elba (proposed) as the British secret service spy.
Anne Boleyn (2021) - Black English actress Jodie Turner-Smith played the Queen of England in a British TV series. Anne Boleyn was white and the second wife of
King Henry
VIII.
Saint Joan (2020) - Black New Yorker Condola Rashad played the French heroine Joan of Arc in a stage production of the tale set in the 15th century. In the play, Rashad is a gender non-confirming Joan.
Troy: Fall of a City (2018) - In the TV drama, Achilles, the Greek hero of the Trojan War is played by black English actor David Gyasi.
The Hollow Crown (2012 - 2016) - Sophie Okonedo, a Nigerian-British actress, played Queen Margaret of Anjou in the Shakespearean TV adaptation. Margaret, of French descent, was Queen of England and married to King Henry VI from 1445 to 1461.
Once Upon a Time (2011 - 2018) - The ABC series about fairytales features a black actor Sinqua Walls as
Sir
Lancelot. Lancelot is a British character who features as one of King
Arthur's close companions and one of the greatest Knights of the Round Table. Arthur was a legendary king of Britain and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition.
Robin Hood (2006 - 2009) - The BBC series featured black English actor David Harewood as Friar Tuck. Friar Tuck is one of the legendary Merry Men, the band of heroic outlaws in the folklore of Robin Hood which was set in England's Sherwood Forest in the 15th century.
MEDIA
INDEX
BBC
NEWS - NETFLIX CLEOPATRA DOCUDRAMA 10 MAY 2023
BRISBANE
TIMES - RADAR REVEALS POSSIBLE LOCATION CLEOPATRA'S TOMB 2009
BRITISH
MUSEUM - CLEOPATRA,
17 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER OF CANDACE, THEBES
CBC
- CLEOPATRA OUTSMARTED EVERYONE, FEBRUARY 2021
CBS
- WHY
SOME EGYPTIANS ARE FUMING OVER NETFLIX'S BLACK CLEOPATRA
DAILY
MAIL - ADELE JAMES BREAK SILENCE AS TO BLACKWASHING CLAIMS MAY 2023
DISCOVERY
MAGAZINE - JUNE
7 2023, WILL WE EVER FIND THE TOMB OF CLEOPATRA?
GREEK
CITY TIMES - ARCHAEOLOGIST CLAIMS TO BE CLOSE TO DISCOVERY OF CLEOPATRA
2021
LIVESCIENCE
- WHERE IS CLEOPATRA'S TOMB/PALACE JULY 2020
NATURE
- STUDY
90 MUMMIES REVEALS ANCESTRY ANCIENT EGYPTIANS: MIDDLE EASTERN JUNE
2017
ROTTEN
TOMATOES - CLEOPATRA
CRITICS, SERIES 1 REVIEWS MAY 2023
SKY
HISTORY - THE
HIDDEN TOMB OF CLEOPATRA MARCH 2023
SKYE
NEVILLE - PLASTIC FREE COMICS, WAITROSE BANS
SPECTATOR
- THE
TROUBLE WITH NETFLIX'S QUEEN CLEOPATRA 29 MAY 2023
THE
CONVERSATION - WHY
THE DISCOVERY OF CLEOPATRA'S TOMB COULD REWRITE HISTORY 2022
THE
GUARDIAN - NETFLIX, NO NEED FOR WHITE ACTOR 10 MAY 2023
THE
SUN - QUEEN CLEOPATRA'S TOMB, TAPOSIRIS MAGNA 2020
THE
SUN - THE REICH STUFF: GLOBAL HUNT FOR HITLER'S LOST £20 BILLION NAZI GOLD HORDE APRIL 2021
TWITTER
- ON CLEOPATRA SERIES BY NETFLIX MAY 2023
UNDERWATER
PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE - CLEOPATRA'S SUNKEN PALACE
USA
TODAY - MUSTAFA
WAZIRI, ALEXANDRIA, EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGISTS 2018
YOUTUBERS
- MAKEUP,
CLEOPATRA'S FACE & EYE COSMETICS, MUMMY MASK
YOUTUBERS
- NETFLIX VIDEO COMMENTS MAY 2023
ZAHI
HAWASS - DOCUMENTARY: CLEOPATRA VII PHILOPATOR
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/may/10/queen-cleopatra-review-a-fun-drama-weighed-down-by-the-self-serious-need-to-educate
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2023/05/17/netflixs-queen-cleopatra-controversy-explained/?sh=489cff1c6628
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-africa-65574733
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-12065875/Adele-James-breaks-silence-Queen-Cleopatra-blackwashing-claims.html
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/news/queen-cleopatra-actress-adele-james-says-claims-of-blackwashing-are-fundamentally-racist/ar-AA1b4dq6
CLONED
REPLICANT - Using the latest technology in computer genome mapping and
digital DNA splicing, an occult sect of scientists, reincarnate Cleopatra
VII, who died in 30BC, having located and plundered her sarcophagus from
its watery grave. The resurrected Pharaoh has to mesh with the modern
world she's been reborn into, where the Fourth Reich harbour evil plans
for her. We
are looking to build a team of artists for a series of John
Storm graphic novels. Students and professionals, all
welcome - if you like this style of illustration - and stories to amaze.
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