Since Idris Elba is awesome, everyone would love to see him play an equally awesome fictional character like James Bond. Everyone, except Rush Limbaugh.
The idea of Elba playing 007 after Daniel Craig finishes his contract with Sony, MGM and producers of the Bond films has been floating around for years. However, it was given a nice boost when leaked Sony emails showed that Sony Pictures co-chair Amy Pascal has endorsed the idea.
“Idris should be the next bond,” a Jan. 4, 2014 email written by Pascal reads, reports The Daily Beast.
Conservative radio pundit Limbaugh took the topic up for some reason on Tuesday and said he can’t endorse a Bond played by a black actor. A recording of the show was posted at Media Matters.
“James Bond is a total concept put together by Ian Fleming,” Limbaugh said. “He was white and Scottish, period. That is who James Bond is.”
So, even though Limbaugh knows Bond is a fictional character, he still must be white. “Fifty years of white Bond because Bond is white. Always Scottish. Always drank vodka.”
However, as HitFix points out, Bond wasn’t Scottish until 1964’s You Only Live Twice, which Fleming published after Sean Connery started playing Bond in the movies. Also, Bond doesn’t drink straight vodka and has had plenty of other drinks in the movies.
Of course, Limbaugh doesn’t just stop at this. He also suggested that Hollywood would cast white actors as non-fiction black figures, including George Clooney and Kate Hudson as President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
Elba is best known for his roles on The Wire and Luther, and was also seen on the big screen in Pacific Rim. He’ll play Luther again next year.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com