John Boyega responds to Idris Elba no longer calling himself a Black actor

nme.com:

John Boyega has responded to Idris Elba‘s recent comments, where the latter said he had “stopped describing [himself] as a Black actor”.During a recent chat with Esquire UK, the Luther star said people are “obsessed with race”, and that “can really hinder people’s aspirations,” adding that being described as a Black actor “put [him] in a box”.“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,” the star began.“As humans, we are obsessed with race.

And that obsession can really hinder people’s aspirations, hinder people’s growth.”Elba added: “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.”After a follower on Twitter weighed in by declaring: “He’s not wrong lmao.