Adele James is the star of the new Netflix series "Queen Cleopatra", which raised a firestorm of reactions for the choice of a black actress for the role of the queen of Egypt.
According to news reports, the platform was sued for violating Egypt's media laws.
The British actress and screenwriter studied at Richmond-upon-Thames College and the University of Bristol.
Adele James first discovered her passion for acting in high school, where she played the stand-in for Mrs. Casper in an all-female production of 'Kes', after which her mother declared she had 'found her calling'.
Since then, the actress began intensively and passionately training in acting, which she continued throughout her career.
James is best known for her role as Tina Mollett on the TV show Casualty.
In 2018, James established herself as a screenwriter, with her debut feature, Last Call, which was awarded Best Short Screenplay. She has since developed her own original TV ideas with major broadcasters and production companies including Channel 4.
Watch the Queen Cleopatra trailer:
After the storm of reactions caused on social media by "Queen Cleopatra", which falsely investigates the life of the queen of Egypt, the platform was sued for violating the law for the Egyptian media.
The reason behind all this is none other than the choice of the young black actress, Adele James for the lead role.
The fact that the actress is black led to many to comment that Cleopatra was Greek, from the Ptolemaic dynasty that ruled Egypt for almost 300 years, immediately after the conquests of Alexander the Great.
Commentators accuse Netflix of distorting history, with many noting that these choices make no sense, but are made purely for commercial reasons to exploit the momentum of the woke movement.
Netflix disables comments
Meanwhile, Netflix appears to have been forced to disable comments on the new Queen Cleopatra trailer after massive backlash online. The series caused waves of backlash on social media, so much so that Netflix was forced to completely remove the option for people to comment.
Although the documentary series has yet to air, it is clear from the trailer that the monarch is portrayed as a black woman, possibly of "misunderstood descent".
One of the people speaking in the short clip says: "I remember my grandmother saying to me: 'I don't care what they tell you in school, Cleopatra was black.'"
Precisely for these reasons, lawyer Mahmoud al-Semary from Egypt sued the famous streaming platform, asking for the deactivation of the series and claiming that it is trying to erase Egyptian history.
According to the "Cairo24" website, Mahmoud al-Semary intends to take all legal measures against those responsible, in order to "stop Netflix's participation in such a crime".
And now for something completely different...
Lawyer Mahmoud al-Semary wants to shut down Netflix in Egypt over the "Queen Cleopatra" doc. that portrays Cleopatra as a black woman. He argues that it promotes Afrocentrism and distorts Egyptian identity and history. She was Greek. pic.twitter.com/0XhhknFvPc
— Tactical News PL (@tac_pl) April 19, 2023
Following the backlash, a new petition appeared on Change.org calling for the documentary to be cancelled, following this "falsification of history". Over 85,000 people from around the world collected signatures in just two days. However, the platform eventually removed her for violating its terms of use.
The protagonist, Adele James, did not leave the comments about her choice unanswered. With a post on Twitter, she asked those who are offended by her interpretation not to watch the documentary and to stop commenting.
"Queen Cleopatra" is set to premiere on Netflix on May 10. Starring Adele James, Craig Russell and Jada Pinkett Smith, who produced the documentary.
