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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Tom Murray

Netflix’s Queen Cleopatra actor Adele James responds to ‘fundamentally racist’ casting backlash

Netflix

Adele James, the British star of Netflix’s controversial new docudrama Queen Cleopatra, has broken her silence on the backlash against her casting.

News of the show was met with uproar in Egypt due to the fact that a Black actor (James) was portraying the ancient ruler. Prominent figures in the country, such as the antiquities ministry, have argued that Cleopatra had “white skin and Hellenistic characteristics”.

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