*Idris Elba is catching heat after proclaiming that he rejects being called a “Black actor.”
During a recent chat with Esquire UK, Elba said people are “obsessed with race”, and that being described as a Black actor “put [him] in a box”.
“If we spent half the time not talking about the differences but the similarities between us, the entire planet would have a shift in the way we deal with each other,” the “Luther” star added.
“As humans, we are obsessed with race. And that obsession can really hinder people’s aspirations, hinder people’s growth,” said Elba.
There isn’t a soul on this earth that can question whether I consider myself a BLACK MAN or not. Being an ‘actor’ is a profession, like being an ‘architect’ ,they are not defined by race. However, If YOU define your work by your race, that is your Perogative. Ah lie?
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) February 11, 2023
“Racism should be a topic for discussion, sure. Racism is very real. But from my perspective, it’s only as powerful as you allow it to be,” Elba added.
“I stopped describing myself as a Black actor when I realized it put me in a box. We’ve got to grow. We’ve got to. Our skin is no more than that: it’s just skin. Rant over,” he said.
While many social media users agree with Elba, others, including actor John Boyega, were a tad bit more critical, NME reports.
“I think we should fixate on who is typecasting and putting actors in boxes because of this,” the Star Wars actor tweeted. “Not on making weird adjustments for them.
“We continuously focus on what we have to do so they don’t do this or that. Very worrying. We BLACK and that’s that,” he added.
“Idris Elba’s comments about not being labeled a Black actor is interesting seeing as how many people don’t want him to play James Bond because… he’s a black actor,” one person tweeted in response to Elba’s original comments.
“I guess he thinks he’s so famous that even the police will recognize him if pulled over. Or, he must still want to be the next James Bond!” another person tweeted.
“This is why I’m against foreign Black actors being given our best roles in films especially about our history, they have NO CLUE what we have gone through. He’s whining about having to THINK about racism all the time in the US as he takes our roles,” wrote another Twitter user.
“Regardless of whether Idris Elba sees himself as a ‘Black Actor’ or not, the white establishment made the rules of “race.” We are forced to be reminded of race in EVERYTHING we do. We have to fill out the race box in EVERY application we fill out, loans, college, insurance…etc,” another person tweeted.
Idris has responded to the backlash over his remarks. He took to Twitter on Feb. 11, to explain what he meant, saying: “There isn’t a soul on this earth that can question whether I consider myself a BLACK MAN or not,” he tweeted. “Being an ‘actor’ is a profession, like being an ‘architect’, they are not defined by race. However, If YOU define your work by your race, that is your Perogative. Ah lie?”
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