Hollywood superstar Idris Elba set his woke critics straight after he faced backlash for saying in an interview that said racism is “only as powerful as you allow it to be.” Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Elba said:
“I stopped describing myself as a Black actor when I realized it put me in a box. As humans, we are obsessed with race. And that obsession can really hinder people’s aspirations, hinder people’s growth.
“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. We’ve got to grow. We’ve got to. Our skin is no more than that: It’s just skin.
“As you get up the ladder, you get asked what it’s like to be the first Black to do this or that.
“Well, it’s the same as it would be if I were white.
“It’s the first time for me.
“I don’t want to be the first Black. I’m the first Idris.
“I’m aware that, in many cases, I might be the first to look like me to do a certain thing.
“And that’s good, to leave as part of my legacy.
“So that other people, Black kids, but also white kids growing up in the circumstances I grew up in, are able to see there was a kid who came from Canning Town who ended up doing what I do.
“It can be done,” he said.
After a woke backlash to those comments, Elba set them all straight with a blistering statement:
“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?”
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
