A lawyer in Egypt is fighting to get Netflix banned in the country. Reason: A docudrama series that depicts Queen Cleopatra VII as a black African. According to a report in BBC, Egyptian lawyer Mahmoud Al-Sedary filed a complaint with the public prosecutor, saying that the show violates Egypt’s media laws.
He said that the streaming service “promotes Afrocentric thinking … which includes slogans and writings aimed at distorting and erasing the Egyptian identity,” the BBC reported. UK actress Adele James, who is dark-skinned, has been cast as the historic queen in “African Queens: Queen Cleopatra,” streaming on Netflix in May.
The official trailer of the show that was released recently has many Egyptians condemning the depiction of Cleopatra. It has stirred up so much controversy that its YouTube comments have been turned off. The clip has over 2 million views.
A leading Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass has also objected to the show, claiming that the casting of a dark-skinned woman misrepresents Egyptian identity and history. In an interview with Egyptian newspaper Al Masry Al-Youm, Hawass denied that Cleopatra was Black saying that her Greek origins mean she would be light-skinned. He reportedly accused Netflix of trying to provoke confusion by spreading false and deceptive facts that the origin of the Egyptian civilization is Black.
A petition titled “Cancel Netflix’s ‘Queen Cleopatra’’ has garnered over 3,200 signatures on Change.org. Another petition for the cause that allegedly received 85,000 signatures was meanwhile removed from Change.org.
Netflix’s Response
Netflix previously addressed Cleopatra’s racial background head-on, it reportedly reminded viewers that in her time, “Egypt’s population was multicultural and multiracial.” “The creative choice to cast a bi-racial actor to play Cleopatra is a nod to the centuries-long conversation about the ruler’s race,” explained a news release on the platform’s “Tudum” site.
He said that the streaming service “promotes Afrocentric thinking … which includes slogans and writings aimed at distorting and erasing the Egyptian identity,” the BBC reported. UK actress Adele James, who is dark-skinned, has been cast as the historic queen in “African Queens: Queen Cleopatra,” streaming on Netflix in May.
The official trailer of the show that was released recently has many Egyptians condemning the depiction of Cleopatra. It has stirred up so much controversy that its YouTube comments have been turned off. The clip has over 2 million views.
A leading Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass has also objected to the show, claiming that the casting of a dark-skinned woman misrepresents Egyptian identity and history. In an interview with Egyptian newspaper Al Masry Al-Youm, Hawass denied that Cleopatra was Black saying that her Greek origins mean she would be light-skinned. He reportedly accused Netflix of trying to provoke confusion by spreading false and deceptive facts that the origin of the Egyptian civilization is Black.
A petition titled “Cancel Netflix’s ‘Queen Cleopatra’’ has garnered over 3,200 signatures on Change.org. Another petition for the cause that allegedly received 85,000 signatures was meanwhile removed from Change.org.
Netflix’s Response
Netflix previously addressed Cleopatra’s racial background head-on, it reportedly reminded viewers that in her time, “Egypt’s population was multicultural and multiracial.” “The creative choice to cast a bi-racial actor to play Cleopatra is a nod to the centuries-long conversation about the ruler’s race,” explained a news release on the platform’s “Tudum” site.
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