“Asked Egyptians to see themselves as Africans”: Jada Smith’s Queen Cleopatra Director Ridicules Blackwashing Criticism
The trailer for the Netflix docuseries Jada Smith’s Queen Cleopatra caused a stir and led to allegations that the streamer was “blackwashing” the heritage of Queen Cleopatra VII. The Director, Tina Gharavi spoke out on the political backlash to the docuseries. Gharavi cited Elizabeth Taylor’s iconic portrayal of the ancient queen in the 1963 epic Cleopatra, which made history as one of the most expensive films ever made at the time, as a direct influence on directing Queen Cleopatra.
Gharavi slams the critics by saying,
“Why shouldn’t Cleopatra be a melanated sister? And why do some people need Cleopatra to be white? Her proximity to whiteness seems to give her value, and for some Egyptians, it seems to really matter.”
What Is the Actual Reason For People To Be Upset?
Reportedly, the viewers have an issue with the cast of the docuseries being black. The lead character of Cleopatra is played by Adele James, who is of mixed heritage, while, at the same time, the series is a part of African Queens, which allows the audience to learn “about the fearless, captivating lives of queens who were likely not part of their Western academic curriculum.”. Due to the given reasons, there is a backlash observed from the people of Egypt, and elsewhere.
According to historians, Queen Cleopatra was a Macedonian-Greek descendant. But the director quarrels back saying,
“The HBO series “Rome” portrayed one of the most intelligent, sophisticated, and powerful women in the world as a sleazy, dissipated drug addict, yet Egypt didn’t seem to mind. Where was the outrage then? But portraying her as Black? Well.”
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How Did Jada Smith And Adele James Respond To The Hatred?
The criticism and hatred crossed certain boundaries on social media and it was impossible for the actress to stay silent. She had to stand up for herself. James, of course, isn’t the first to play the woman who continues to be talked about worldwide thousands of years after she died. She tweeted replying to some hateful comments on her Twitter.
https://twitter.com/Adele_JJames/status/1646434915976634371
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Even Jada Pinkett Smith backs the docuseries as she wants to portray the strength and determination of women throughout history. In her statement Smith stated,
“There are so many stories to be told in regard to the Black experience globally. I think that it’s important to tell the stories now because we can and haven’t always been able to. Even though there’s a lot more work to do, we’re at a place now where we have the ability and the opportunity to tell stories that have been forgotten as well as the stories that are part of our everyday lives and what a gift that is.
It’s a testament to standing on the shoulders of all of those that came before us that didn’t have the opportunities that we have but were part of carving out the path for all of us to get to where we are today. African Queens is in honor of that,”
Well, the truth is that Queen Cleopatra’s race is still a centuries-long debate as some say she was Greek, and some say she was native Egyptian. However, during her reign, Egypt was a land of a multicultural and multiracial population.
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Source: Variety
