Israeli Gal Gadot cast as Egyptian queen Cleopatra draws backlash
Hollywood (QNN)- Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights for a historical epic centered around the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, starring the European actress Gal Gadot, who is originally from Poland.
Gadot announced the casting Sunday on Twitter, discussing the period biographical drama collaboration with “Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins, scripted by Laeta Kalogridis.
“As you might have heard I teamed up with @PattyJenks and @LKalogridis to bring the story of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, to the big screen in a way she’s never been seen before. To tell her story for the first time through women’s eyes, both behind and in front of the camera,” Gadot wrote. “I love embarking on new journeys, I love the excitement of new projects, the thrill of bringing new stories to life. Cleopatra is a story I wanted to tell for a very long time.”
The Egyptian queen Cleopatra was of Greek ancestry with debates regarding some Persian and Syrian ancestry, too. Meanwhile, Gadot is an Israeli actress originally from Poland and Austria, which drew backlash about Hollywood’s tendency to star western actors and actresses to play roles of iconic characters of people of color.
So…there were no Egyptian women to play, um, an *Egyptian* queen? https://t.co/RBFv55He8d
— Abdul El-Sayed, MD, DPhil (@AbdulElSayed) October 11, 2020
Whatever you think of her being cast as Cleopatra, never forget that Gal Gadot proudly served (and continues to support) a colonial army notorious for maiming and murdering civilians.
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) October 11, 2020
leaked footage of gal gadot as cleopatra pic.twitter.com/D8Nt3n1nFR
— rimas (@pacinosaI) October 11, 2020
Paramount pictures casting Gal gadot as cleopatra has the same energy as this pic.twitter.com/ax2PikP9yY
— izzy✨ (@selsringz) October 11, 2020
Gadot had been criticized for her support for the Israeli murdering of over 2000 native Palestinians in the Israeli aggression of the besieged Gaza strip.
Hollywood has been also criticized for starring white actors and actresses to play roles of non-white characters. The long list of films in which white actors have played other races includes everything from romantic comedies to action adventures and fantasies to historical epics. African-American roles and roles of Asian and Middle-eastern descent have been whitewashed.
