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In the past couple of years, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have become two of the most controversial celebrities in Hollywood. The actor tarnished his image by slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars 2022 and his wife for publicly talking about her extramarital affair with August Alsina, her son’s friend. Now, it seems that Jada has again landed herself in trouble for producing upcoming docudrama series on Netflix, African Queens: Queen Cleopatra.
Casting has become a sensitive topic in all entertainment industries as people expect inclusivity and representation of all races, colours, ethnicities, orientations, identities and more. Gone are those days when a casting director could star cis-gendered actors to play gay or trans characters without getting backlash. People expect authentic representation on-screen, and probably that’s why they’re debating Cleopatra being played by Adele James, a mixed-race woman, in the new series produced by Jada. Scroll on to learn more.
Recently, Gal Gadot received flak online when it was announced that she would play Cleopatra in the Queen’s biopic. People were not happy with an Israeli star playing the role. Now, with Jada Pinkett Smith producing Queen Cleopatra with Adele James in the leading role, some people have accused Netflix of blackwashing the character. According to BBC, Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, has called it a ‘completely fake’ portrayal of the Queen and said the makers are “trying to provoke confusion by spreading false and deceptive facts that the origin of the Egyptian civilization is black. Cleopatra was Greek, meaning that she was light-skinned, not black.”
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