Egyptians are outrageous about a Netflix series that portrays Queen Cleopatra VII as a black African. A well-known Egyptologist and former minister of antiquities, Zahi Hawass, declared, "This is entirely false. Because Cleopatra was Greek, she had a pale complexion, not dark. The only kings of Egypt known to have been black, according to Mr. Hawass, were the Kushite kings of the 25th Dynasty (747–656 BC). He also said that "Netflix is trying to provoke confusion by spreading false and deceptive facts that the origin of the Egyptian civilization is black," and he urged Egyptians to stand up to the streaming company.
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Attorney Mahmoud al-Semary complained to the public prosecutor on Sunday, requesting that he take "the necessary legal measures" and prevent Egyptians from using Netflix's services. The series, he claimed, contained visuals and written content that broke Egyptian media laws. He further charged Netflix with aiming to "promote the Afrocentric thinking... which includes slogans and writings aimed at distorting and erasing the Egyptian identity."
The executive producer of the film, American actress Jada Pinkett Smith said "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!". The portrayal of Cleopatra was criticized by many Egyptians when the teaser was released.
