BREAKING NEWS – London, England – Gal Gadot has defended her casting as Cleopatra after she was met with accusations of “whitewashing” the upcoming biopic. Critics have said that an Arab or African actress should play the role of the iconic Egyptian leader instead of the 35-year-old Israeli actress.
“First of all, if you want to be true to the facts, then Cleopatra was Macedonian,”Gadot told BBC Arabic. “We were looking for a Macedonian actress that could fit Cleopatra. She wasn’t there. And I was very passionate about Cleopatra.”
She 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 I understand why black people are objecting, because I am the same way regarding Santa Claus. When I see a black person in a Santa Claus outfit, I go ballistic! Santa Claus was a jolly old white elf, not black. There is no such thing as a black elf. Black people are tall, real tall. I know this for a fact because I always watch March Madness and the NBA playoffs. And I’m sure that there aren’t any black people living in the North Pole in or near Santa’s Village, because many of them walk really cool, and in the winter time, they wouldn’t be able to public display their rhythmic strolling in which most white people are envious of. Besides that, it’s a scientific fact that frigid temperatures frightens African-Americans and Africans too… I think.”