Jada Pinkett Smith’s latest Netflix show reimagines Cleopatra as a powerful black leader. Unfortunately, it has received the lowest ratings ever recorded on Rotten Tomatoes. As of Monday morning, critics have given it an 11% score, while regular viewers have rated it positively at just 2%.
According to a surprised observer at Forbes:
The show has achieved something I didn’t think was possible. It doesn’t just have the lowest audience score in Netflix history, but it has reached the lowest possible score on Rotten Tomatoes, a mere 1%. It’s not even 10%, but 1%. (Update: It has now increased to 2%, still an exceptionally low score).
There are not many critic reviews yet, but those that exist are also quite low, with the show currently at 13%. However, the audience scores are unprecedented. I have never witnessed anything like this before, not even with bad shows or politically controversial ones that are prone to review bombing. This is the worst in Netflix history, and honestly, possibly even in TV history, especially considering the number of reviews (over a thousand).
The show sparked controversy even before its release because Jada Pinkett Smith cast a black actress as Cleopatra. Surprisingly, it wasn’t conservatives who voiced their concerns, but actual Egyptians, including the Egyptian government. One individual even sued Netflix over the casting decision.
It’s a well-known fact among historians that Cleopatra was of Greek/Macedonian descent, not of sub-Saharan African origin. Despite claiming to be a serious docudrama, the show presented a different narrative. Personally, I wouldn’t mind who played the role as long as they performed well. However, Pinkett Smith and others with similar views infused their work with woke ideology, promoting inaccurate political messages.
As a result, the show is now considered the worst TV show in history.
