John Boyega Ain’t Buying What Idris Elba Is Selling, ‘We BLACK, And That’s That’

British actor and heartthrob John Boyega wasn’t feeling fellow Brit– Idris Elba’s latest declaration of not labeling himself a “Black actor” anymore. Social media users went up for the response.

On February 10, the 30-year-old Woman King actor responded to the nonsense on Twitter. Boyega wrote, “I think we should fixate on who is typecasting and putting actors in boxes because of this. 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.”

Black Twitter reacted to his forward response.

 

On February 8, Elba proclaimed, “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.”

The Luther actor said the statement– to the chagrin of Black folks. 

However, in 2016, he told a different story.

“When you don’t reflect the real world, too much talent is actually trashed. Now, talent is everywhere, but opportunity isn’t. Talent can’t reach opportunity unaided, especially on our small island. That’s why Britain– British talent gets exported all over the world,” Elba told a British public television station. 

Either way, Boyega appeared to speak on Black people’s behalf. We are here for it!