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    Idris Elba Says He No Longer Identifies As A Black Actor

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    idris elba

    Actor Idris Elba has recently made some interesting claims regarding his career in connection with his race. Specifically, Idris Elba claims that he longer identifies as a black actor.

    This was revealed by Elba in an interview with Esquire. He had this to say during that discussion:

    “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. 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. I stopped describing myself as a Black actor when I realised 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.”

    However, some people, including other celebrities, made criticisms of Elba’s statement. This included actor John Boyega who had this to say:

    “I think we should fixate on who is typecasting and putting actors in boxes because of this,” Boyega wrote. “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.”


    Now actor Idris Elba has made his own follow-up tweet to confirm his statement about no longer identifying as a black actor. As shared below:

    “There isn’t a soul on this earth that can question whether I consider myself a BLACK MAN or not,” he wrote. “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 [sic]. Ah lie?”


    It’s clear that Idris Elba is going to openly declare and stand up for his own thoughts. And, as he notes, he’s open to others doing the same for themselves. After all, it is their “prerogative” as he noted in his tweet. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates regarding Idris Elba as we have them.