In light of Netflix’s new docuseries “Queen Cleopatra” casting a Black woman in the title role, Egyptian officials are pushing back, calling it “a blatant historical fallacy.” But “The Daily Show” guest host Dulcé Sloan isn’t buying it.
To kick off her week guest-hosting the show, Sloan mocked Egyptian officials for their outrage, after they claimed the ancient queen was actually “fair-skinned” and Greek.
“Oh, OK. Egypt is concerned about ‘historical accuracy.’ I didn’t hear you complain when all them ‘Mummy’ movies came out,” Sloan mocked.
“What are you talking about? We got mummies coming back from the dead, chasing Brendan Fraser, and y’all don’t have a problem,” she continued. “And then a Black woman plays Cleopatra, and all of a sudden it’s like ‘Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, that didn’t happen, that didn’t happen! No. ‘The Mummy,’ that was real. This, uh-uh.’”
Sloan went on to joke that Egypt must be worried that Netflix’s series is going to turn their cultural history into a “Blaxploitation film,” mocking what that would look like too. But, in the end, Sloan conceded that Egypt can maintain ownership over the depiction of Cleopatra — provided they relinquish someone else.
“So, OK, you can have Cleopatra. But then we get Jesus,” Sloan said. “I mean, it’s only fair. We all know Jesus was Black because he was found guilty in court. And he did nothing wrong!”
You can watch the full segment from “The Daily Show” in the video above.
