A couple months ago, Idris Elba explained that he was no longer referring to himself as a ‘black actor’ because of the limitations he thought it put on his career, and that didn’t sit well with the type of people who like to highlight skin colour every time an actor or artist does something notable.

This week, 50-year-old Idris has addressed the backlash in an interview with The Guardian, saying the following:

In this day and age, it’s really difficult to have an opinion if you’re in the public eye because it gets overly scrutinised, taken out of context, thrown into some sort of bullshit, zeitgeisty social media argument.

Me saying I don’t like to call myself a black actor is my prerogative. That’s me, not you. 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.

In the original interview with Esquire, The Wire and Luther legend said:

Of course, I’m a member of the Black community. You say a prominent one. But when I go to America, I’m a prominent member of the British community. ‘Oh, U.K.’s in the house!’ 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 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.

It’s always nice when a celebrity shuts down this kind of “woke” backlash rather than backtrack or apologise, so fair play to Idris on that. Of course the guy doesn’t need to distinguish himself as a black actor, or a British actor for that matter.  That’s what was so cool about Luther – the character wasn’t a black homicide detective, he was just a homicide detective who happened to be black. Why make it a big deal or any type of deal at all?

It wasn’t that long ago the BBC’s Diversity Chief said Idris Elba’s Luther ‘isn’t black enough’ because he ‘doesn’t have black friends and doesn’t ear Caribbean food’. Sigh…