Not long after its release, Netflix’s Queen Cleopatra, part of Jada Pinkett Smith’s African Queens franchise, the Netflix docuseries has found itself under a heap of controversies. Following Adele James’ casting in the role of Cleopatra, both the streaming platform and the actress have received a lot of backlash for depicting Queen Cleopatra as a person of color.
But following the extreme online hate that has surrounded the show for a while, the lead of the Netflix docuseries has come forward to address the issues and criticisms. However, she claimed that with time, the hatred has gone quieter.
Adele James reflects on the immense backlash against Queen Cleopatra
Following the backlash against the Netflix show from several Egyptian Nationals and a major portion of the internet, Adele James didn’t back away from defending the show. Reflecting on the loud backlash for the race-swapping of the historic figure, James was having none of it, as she brushed away those criticisms by stating that it was nothing but a “mix of self-hatred and, of course, racism”. She further explained her reasoning for the situation by stating,
“People are mad about Cleopatra being blackwashed. Blackwashing isn’t a thing, is it? I find it sad that people are either so self-loathing or so threatened by the Blackness that they feel the need to do that, to separate Egypt from the rest of the continent.”
But despite the huge wave of hate that the actress has been dealing with, James claimed that it’s all not negative and the criticisms regarding the race-swapping of Cleopatra have grown quieter over time.
The criticisms against her casting have slowed down according to Adele James
Dealing with the whole drama hasn’t been easy for any of the crew members working on the series and especially the face of the Netflix docuseries, who had to deal with the extremity of the hate. However, while opening up about her experience, Adele James claimed that it wasn’t all bad, as the hatred has gotten quieter over time and people have been praising her for her work on the show. She said,
“There was absolutely a lot of people saying very horrible things, but it definitely wasn’t everyone… there were some people who lost their minds over it, but there was a lot of really positive responses immediately as well… People are so excited. I’m getting messages all the time. I would say it’s not wholly negative. And actually, as time has gone on, those voices have gotten quieter and quieter
However, things aren’t looking much better for the show, and even apart from the hate for the race-swapping of Cleopatra, the show hasn’t been able to garner many great reviews for its subpar quality.
Queen Cleopatra is available to stream on Netflix.
Source: The Wayne Ayers Podcast
