‘Queen Cleopatra’ helmer Tina Gharavi reverts to backlash over Black Cleopatra

The docuseries director believes 'it is more likely that Cleopatra looked like Adele than Elizabeth Taylor ever did'

PUBLISHED APR 24, 2023

Producer Tina Gharavi arrives on the red carpet for the Moet British Independent Film Awards (Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Shots have been fired as 'Queen Cleopetra' helmer Tina Gharavi has responded to claims of 'Blackwashing' with the casting of the Black British actress Adele James in the role of the Macedonian-Greek ruler for a Netflix docuseries. The new series stars 'Casualty' star Adele James as the iconic Egyptian ruler. After a dark-skinned actress, Adele James was seen portraying Cleopatra in the first trailer for the latest season of African Queens on Netflix, the show received a lot of negative feedback. The casting choice stirred up controversy, and an Egyptian lawyer has sued the streamer for "erasing the Egyptian identity" by featuring a Black Cleopatra. In the film, Cleopatra has been portrayed by white actresses, including Claudette Colbert, Vivien Leigh, Sophia Loren, and Monica Belluci.

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'Blackwashing the historic figure'

'Queen Cleopatra' director Tina Gharavi penned an article for Variety that pushed back against the accusations of "blackwashing" the historic figure after it was revealed that Cleopatra would be played by a Black actress.

"I remember as a kid seeing Elizabeth Taylor play Cleopatra. I was captivated, but even then, I felt the image was not right," Gharavi recalls. "Was her skin really that white? With this new production, could I find the answers about Cleopatra's heritage and release her from the stranglehold that Hollywood had placed on her image?" Gharavi also shares that she has become part of an online hate campaign where Egyptians accuse her of "blackwashing" their history. She wonders where this outrage was when HBO's Rome depicted the Egyptian ruler as a "sleazy, dissipated drug addict." In that series, Cleopatra was portrayed by English actress Lyndsey Marshal.

The new Netflix docuseries starcast

Apart from Adele James as Cleopatra, in the trailer one can also see Jada Pinkett Smith as Narrator, Craig Russell, John Partridge, Kaysha Woollery, Andira Crichlow, Greg Lockett, and Philip Walker are also starring in the series. This series explores Queen Cleopatra, Egypt's last Pharoah.

'Queen Cleopatra' debuts on Netflix on May 10, 2023.