![Netflix's decision to cast a mixed-race actress as Cleopatra sparked controversy and accusations of racism, bringing attention to the ongoing debates around representation and politics in the Middle East and beyond.](https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/egypt-cleopatra-netflix-middle-east-racism-politics-pop-culture-05022023-1.jpg?w=519&h=259&crop=1)
A controversy over a Netflix docudrama about Cleopatra escalated last week, when the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities asserted that Cleopatra was fair-skinned. The statement capped two weeks of debate about her ethnicity, after Netflix cast a mixed-race British actress in the leading role for “Queen Cleopatra.”