Xuenou > Celebrity > Idris Elba Responded To Backlash Over Him Saying He Doesn’t Call Himself A “Black Actor”
Idris Elba Responded To Backlash Over Him Saying He Doesn’t Call Himself A “Black Actor”
Idris Elba Responded To Backlash Over Him Saying He Doesn't Call Himself A "Black Actor","So, for you to turn around and say to me, I’m ‘denying my Blackness.’ On what grounds?"

Idris Elba Responded To Backlash Over Him Saying He Doesn’t Call Himself A “Black Actor”

You know Idris Elba. He’s starred Luther, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, The Wire, and many other projects.

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“Me saying I don’t like to call myself a Black actor is my prerogative. That’s me, not you,” Idris said.

Stuart C. Wilson / Getty Images

“So, for you to turn around and say to me, I’m ‘denying my Blackness.’ On what grounds? Did you hear that? Where am I denying it? And what for? It’s just stupid. Whatever.”

Nbc / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

You can read Idris’s full interview with Esquire here, and his full interview with the Guardian here.