Actress Gal Gadot Has Responded To The Backlash Over Her Casting As Cleopatra In A New Big-screen Epic From Paramount - After Filmmakers Were Accused Of whitewashing

Actress Gal Gadot has responded to the backlash over her casting as Cleopatra in a new big-screen epic from Paramount - after filmmakers were accused of 'whitewashing'.
Plans for Gadot to play the Egyptian Queen sparked drew outrage from confused social media users in October, who wrongly assumed Cleopatra was black and North African.
The film's director Patty Jenkins was accused of 'whitewashing' after casting a white Israeli woman, to play such a role and suggested the part be given to an African or black actress instead.
The outrage was met with ridicule by other social media users who were quick to point out the Egyptian ruler was actually likely ethnically Greek or Persian.
While she was born in Egypt, Cleopatra was the daughter of Pharaoh Ptolemy XII, a member of the Macedonian Greek royal family that ruled Egypt for 275 years, meaning Cleopatra was most likely fair-skinned. 
Now Gadot, 35, has spoken out about the reaction, and defended the movie's casting.
'First of all, if you want to be true to the facts, then Cleopatra was Macedonian,' Gadot told [ ]
'We were looking for a Macedonian actress that could fit Cleopatra.

She wasn't there. And I was very passionate about Cleopatra.'
Gal Gadot has defended her plans to play Cleopatra following accusations of whitewashing
The Israeli film star, pictured right, noted in an interview that Cleopatra was Macedonian and may have been white or of mixed ancestry.

She is pictured with director of Wonder Woman, Patty Jenkins who will also direct Cleopatra
Gadot added: '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 honor this amazing historic icon that I admire so much. 
'But, you know, anybody can make this nonton movie 251 and anybody can go ahead and do it.

I'm very passionate that I'm gonna do my own, too.' 
Gadot, best known for Wonder Woman will also produce the new Cleopatra film, taking on the role made famous by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1963 classic of the same name.
The biopic will retell the 'story for the first time through women's eyes, both behind and in front of the camera,' Gadot said.
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Twitter users had assumed the announcement was another case of Hollywood directors casting white woman for ethnic roles


Twitter users quickly responded to the outrage, revealing Cleopatra was in fact Greek, not North African
When news originally broke in October of Gadot's role it immediately prompted social media criticism of the white, Israeli-born star's casting as an African queen.
'Hollywood has always cast white American actresses as the Queen of the Nile.

For once, can't they find an African actress?' tweeted author James Hall.
The furor tapped into wider criticism of Hollywood's history of casting white actors in non-white roles on the apparent assumption of higher box office appeal, a practice commonly referred to as 'whitewashing.'
However, other social media users quickly noted that Cleopatra descended from Alexander the Great's general Ptolemy and was of Greek heritage, and may have been white. 
The outrage was met with ridicule by other social media users who were quick to point out the Egyptian ruler was actually ethnically Greek or Persian. 
Gal Gadot is to play Cleopatra in the new epic.

The casting in October drew criticism on social media from users who said the white, Israeli actress should not play the Egyptian queen after wrongly assuming she was black
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox floatRHS news" data-version="2" id="mol-a806ba20-44b3-11eb-9c0e-0599fcee90df" website Gadot defends Cleopatra casting:Director accused of 'whitewashing'