Netflix's Series Shows Black Cleopatra, Egyptian Channel Hits Back In Fury

The controversy over Netflix's new docudrama about Cleopatra, a formidable queen of Egypt, is refusing to die down. Egypt is miffed with the depiction of Cleopatra as a Black woman, portrayed by British actor Adele James on screen. After the trailer of the series released last month, Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities issued a long statement stressing that "Queen Cleopatra had light skin and Hellenistic (Greek) features". And now, a government-owned television channel in Egypt has decided to create its own high-end series to rival it.

The Al Wathaeqya channel - a subsidiary of Egypt's state-affiliated United Media Services - said its documentary will be based on the "utmost levels" of research and accuracy, according to Variety.

Queen Cleopatra, produced and narrated by Jada Pinkett Smith, started streaming on Netflix on May 10.

The debate around the Netflix series stems from the contested nature of Cleopatra's racial identity. Egyptians say the streaming service is dragging the ancient queen into a Western-backed narrative - about Black representation in Hollywood - in which she has no real place.

"Statues of Queen Cleopatra confirm that she had Hellenistic (Greek) features, distinguished by light skin, a drawn-out nose and thin lips," Egypt's government said on Twitter on April 30.

The producers of the show say since there is no clear proof of her family tree leave ground for possibility that her mother was from another background.

"We don't often get to see or hear stories about Black queens, and that was really important for me, as well as for my daughter, and just for my community to be able to know those stories because there are tons of them," Jada Pinkett Smith, who also produced 'African Queens', said in a Netflix-sponsored article about the show.

The New York Times said that Cleopatra was descended from a line of Macedonian Greek kings who ruled Egypt from 323 BC to 30 BC, when it was annexed by Rome.

She was born in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in 69 BC, succeeding her father Ptolemy XII in 51 BC and ruled until her death in 30 BC.

Different actors have portrayed Cleopatra in different Hollywood movies over the years - from Elizabeth Taylor, who played her in 1963, to Angelina Jolie, Lady Gaga and Gal Gadot.