Gal Gadot responds to Cleopatra 'whitewashing' criticism

Gal Gadot is once again defending her decision to play Cleopatra in the upcoming biopic. In a new interview, the Wonder Woman star further explained her decision to portray the late Egyptian queen, despite backlash from fans who accused the movie of whitewashing.

“How do you respond to that?” wondered an interviewer for BBC Arabic who was speaking with Gadot in anticipation of the upcoming Christmas day release of Wonder Woman 1984. “First of all if you want to be true to the facts then Cleopatra was Macedonian,” Gadot, who is also a producer on the film, responded. “We were looking for a Macedonian actress that could fit Cleopatra. She wasn't there, and I was very passionate about Cleopatra.”

The 35-year-old Israeli actor then continued that while she and director Patty Jenkins are very much into telling the story of Cleopatra, others are welcome to do as they wish. “To me as a people lover, and I have friends from across the globe, whether they're Muslims or Christian or Catholic or atheist or Buddhist, or Jewish of course... People are people, and with me I want to celebrate the legacy of Cleopatra and honour this amazing historic icon that I admire so much,” she said. “But you know, anybody can make this movie and anybody can go ahead and do it. I'm very passionate that I'm going to do my own, too.”

This isn’t the first time Gadot has spoken about her decision to accept the role. In October after her casting was announced she took to Twitter to speak directly to fans who thought the role should have gone to an Arab or Black actor. “I love embarking on new journeys, I love the excitement of new projects, the thrill of bringing new stories to life,” she wrote on October 11. “Cleopatra is a story I wanted to tell for a very long time. Can’t be more grateful about this A team!!”

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To dig a little more into the history of the character, Cleopatra became famous in history for her beauty and drama. She was of mixed-race and one of the last Egyptian rulers of her time. She was a descendant of a Macedonian general during the Ptolemy dynasty, and ruled when the Nile kingdom was still a client state of Rome, according to BBC.

Of course she was also famous for her love life: she was Julius Caesar’s lover and later the wife of Mark Antony. That latter love story has been told onscreen before, notably by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in 1963. At the time the project cost 20^th Century Fox more than $30 million to make and at least another $10 million in marketing and promotion, and it nearly bankrupted them. However the movie went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of the decade and it won Oscars for cinematography, art direction, costume design and effects.

According to Entertainment Weekly Sony also tried to update the story back in 2011 when it hired Angelina Jolie to play the iconic figure, but that project fizzled out following producer Scott Rudin’s apparent dislike for the actor. This upcoming version of Cleopatra is completely separate, with a different writer and producers.

This isn’t the first time Gadot is facing backlash from fans in the year that has been 2020. Let’s not forget her celeb-filled rendition of “Imagine” back in March, which many found to be insensitive and condescending in light of the fear and uncertainty surrounding the pandemic.

“What I have found is the fact that now I have such a broad reach to people,” Gadot said earlier on in the BBC interview, when asked about skyrocketing to an international platform. “This is something that I’m not taking for granted and I’m being very responsible about it. I’m trying to make sure that whatever messages I sent out there are authentic to me and are good and are positive.”

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