{"id":571440,"date":"2023-04-22T03:24:09","date_gmt":"2023-04-22T00:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-controversy-over-jada-pinkett-smiths-netflix-series-explained\/"},"modified":"2023-04-22T03:24:09","modified_gmt":"2023-04-22T00:24:09","slug":"the-controversy-over-jada-pinkett-smiths-netflix-series-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-controversy-over-jada-pinkett-smiths-netflix-series-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"#The controversy over Jada Pinkett Smith&#8217;s Netflix series explained"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3578669dada\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3578669dada\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-controversy-over-jada-pinkett-smiths-netflix-series-explained\/#Why_are_people_so_upset_And_what_are_they_saying\" >Why are people so upset? And what are they saying?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-controversy-over-jada-pinkett-smiths-netflix-series-explained\/#How_has_the_show_responded\" >How has the show responded?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-controversy-over-jada-pinkett-smiths-netflix-series-explained\/#What_have_people_said_about_the_women_who_have_previously_portrayed_Cleopatra\" >What have people said about the women who have previously portrayed Cleopatra?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure\">\n<div class=\"caas-figure-with-pb\" style=\"max-height: 699px\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"caas-img-container\" style=\"padding-bottom:56%;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img has-preview\" alt=\"The role of Cleopatra has attracted Elizabeth Taylor, Adele James and Angelina Jolie. (Photo: Everett Collection, Netflix, Getty Images)\n\n\n\n\n\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/ZnoMcI0G1NLNWsQwRBsh5g--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/aol_yahoo_entertainment_231\/a294539db3ec148c13b1ea5544d12acb\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\">The role of Cleopatra has attracted Elizabeth Taylor, Adele James and Angelina Jolie. (Photo: Everett Collection, Netflix, Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Coming to Netflix screens next month: <em>Queen Cleopatra<\/em>, a four-part &#8220;docudrama,&#8221; incorporating interviews from experts as well as reenactments and narrated by Jada Pinkett Smith. But a heated debate over the actress cast as the iconic Egyptian ruler is here <em>now<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Nearly three weeks ahead of its May 10 premiere, director Tina Gharavi has said that during filming she &#8220;became the target of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:1;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2023\/tv\/global\/queen-cleopatra-black-netflix-egypt-1235590708\/\" data-ylk=\"slk:a huge online hate campaign;cpos:1;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">a huge online hate campaign<\/a>,&#8221; and an Egyptian lawyer has<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:2;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-middle-east-65322821\" data-ylk=\"slk:filed a legal complaint;cpos:2;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\"> filed a legal complaint<\/a> that the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> violates <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a> laws and aims to &#8220;erase the Egyptian identity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a closer look:<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_are_people_so_upset_And_what_are_they_saying\"><\/span>Why are people so upset? And what are they saying?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Their issue is that Adele James, who is of mixed heritage, has been cast in the role of the title character, while, at the same time, the series is part of executive producer Smith&#8217;s <em>African Queens<\/em>, which allows the audience to learn &#8220;about the fearless, captivating lives of queens who were likely not part of their Western academic curriculum.&#8221; And there has been backlash from people in Egypt and elsewhere, who say the series is historically inaccurate for a Black woman to play the role.<\/p>\n<p>Historians have debated the precise ancestry and race of Cleopatra, who ruled Egypt for 21 years, from 51 B.C. to 30 B.C. However, she is most often described as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:3;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smithsonianmag.com\/history\/rehabilitating-cleopatra-70613486\/\" data-ylk=\"slk:having been Macedonian Greek;cpos:3;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">having been Macedonian Greek<\/a> on her father&#8217;s side. In Stacy Schiff&#8217;s acclaimed biography <em>Cleopatra: A Life<\/em>, the author wrote that Cleopatra was Greek and &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roximately as Egyptian as Elizabeth Taylor.&#8221; Ancestry of the queen&#8217;s mother is unknown.<\/p>\n<div class=\"caas-iframe-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"caas-iframe youtube\" style=\"padding-bottom:56%;\" data-type=\"youtube\">\n<blockquote data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/IktHcPyNlv4?rel=0\" scrolling=\"no\"><p><noscript><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/IktHcPyNlv4?rel=0\"><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_has_the_show_responded\"><\/span>How has the show responded?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Netflix is obviously well aware of the criticism. &#8220;The creative choice to cast an actor of mixed heritage to play Cleopatra is a nod to the centuries-long conversation about the ruler&#8217;s race,&#8221; a post on the streamer&#8217;s official blog reads. &#8220;During the time of her reign, Egypt&#8217;s population was multicultural and multiracial. Cleopatra&#8217;s race was unlikely to be documented, and the identities of her mother and paternal grandparents weren&#8217;t known. Some speculate she was a native Egyptian woman, while others say she was Greek.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Also, race wasn&#8217;t talked about then in the same way it is now.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;To ask whether someone was &#8216;Black&#8217; or &#8216;white&#8217; is anachronistic,&#8221; Rebecca Futo Kennedy, an associate professor of classics at Denison University, told <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:4;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/6273435\/cleopatra-race-debate-netflix\/\" data-ylk=\"slk:Time;cpos:4;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\"><em>Time<\/em><\/a>. She added that it &#8220;says more about modern political investments than attempting to understand antiquity on its own terms.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Gharavi herself wrote about the uproar Friday for <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:5;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2023\/tv\/global\/queen-cleopatra-black-netflix-egypt-1235590708\/\" data-ylk=\"slk:Variety;cpos:5;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\"><em>Variety<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Doing the research, I realized what a political act it would be to see Cleopatra portrayed by a Black actress. For me, the idea that people had gotten it so incredibly wrong before \u2014 historically, from Theda Bara to Monica Bellucci, and recently, with Angelina Jolie and Gal Gadot in the running to play her \u2014 meant we had to get it even more right,&#8221; she wrote. &#8220;The hunt was on to find the right performer to bring Cleopatra into the 21st century.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>She also asked some interesting questions.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Why shouldn&#8217;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.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>And the star of the series has shared some of the hateful comments that she&#8217;s received on social media, explaining that she banned the offenders.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If you don&#8217;t like the casting don&#8217;t watch the show,&#8221; she tweeted. &#8220;Or do &amp; engage in (expert) opinion different to yours. Either way, I&#8217;M GASSED and will continue to be!&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_have_people_said_about_the_women_who_have_previously_portrayed_Cleopatra\"><\/span>What have people said about the women who have previously portrayed Cleopatra?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>James, of course, isn&#8217;t the first to play the woman who continues to be talked about worldwide thousands of years after she died.<\/p>\n<p>Taylor, whose portrayal is the most renowned, starred in the 1963 movie <em>Cleopatra<\/em>, which infamously endured a disastrous shoot \u2014 it&#8217;s where Taylor and Richard Burton coupled up \u2014 that led to it becoming the most expensive movie ever made. Reviews for the movie were mixed, but it topped the box office and eventually won four Oscars.<\/p>\n<p>As recounted in the <em>South Florida Sun Sentinel<\/em>, Taylor encountered criticism for a different reason: She had converted to Judaism before marrying Eddie Fisher. The fact that she had been supportive of Israel meant that Egypt, who considered the country their enemy, banned her film.<\/p>\n<p>Even before that, actresses including Theda Bara (1917&#8217;s <em>Cleopatra<\/em>) and Vivian Leigh (1945&#8217;s <em>Caesar and Cleopatra<\/em>) had played her.<\/p>\n<p>She&#8217;s not the first person to face backlash either.<\/p>\n<p>Gal Gadot experienced criticism in 2020 when she <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:6;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/florida-jewish-journal\/fl-jj-before-gadot-elizabeth-taylor-cleopatra-20201014-gfzu5de54faafjavockrgjhfgy-story.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:stepped into the role;cpos:6;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">stepped into the role<\/a> for an unreleased film. Angelina Jolie, who has long been linked to a movie based on Schiff&#8217;s book, has been accused of &#8220;<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-i13n=\"cpos:7;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/uk.movies.yahoo.com\/angelina-jolie-needs-step-cleopatra-070524097.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMyO81W7S2-TPNsmKxwqhx1aFMIGf_w8mJ7QVHh4HiAuP8-SnD_I2DVxdOq3egKX9pm5QPMGIzV77zctaEyTQqkcTtStCXdI0GeKx0dcE7zNmpKjn8l4umITxc8HdclGeGWyslT9SCGLsA1ykuwTIcFGQDtMkljTxzLpYPg8p5hk\" data-ylk='slk:whitewashing\" Hollywood;cpos:7;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;' class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp yahoo-link\">whitewashing&#8221; Hollywood<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The director behind the latest project defended her decision to cast the person she did: &#8220;After much hang-wringing and countless auditions, we found in Adele James an actor who could convey not only Cleopatra&#8217;s beauty, but also her strength. What the historians can confirm is that it is more likely that Cleopatra looked like Adele than Elizabeth Taylor ever did.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Queen Cleopatra<\/em><\/strong><strong> is available Wednesday, May 10 on Netflix.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span>Originally published <\/span><time class=\"caas-attr-meta-time\" datetime=\"2023-04-22T00:24:09.000Z\">April 22, 2023 at 2:24 AM<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aol.com\/entertainment\/queen-cleopatra-controversy-over-jada-002409629.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The role of Cleopatra has attracted Elizabeth Taylor, Adele James and Angelina Jolie. (Photo: Everett Collection, Netflix, Getty Images) Coming to Netflix screens next month: Queen Cleopatra, a four-part &#8220;docudrama,&#8221; incorporating interviews from experts as well as reenactments and narrated by Jada Pinkett Smith. But a heated debate over the actress cast as the iconic&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":571441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/nWHSRPRrG9frIHjpYTHPuA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD02NzU-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/aol_yahoo_entertainment_231\/a294539db3ec148c13b1ea5544d12acb","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-571440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=571440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/571441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=571440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=571440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=571440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}