Nationwide — Everybody seems to be excited that actor Idris Elba will be the new James Bond. Everyone, that is, except Rush Limbaugh who is criticizing Elba’s upcoming role because he is not white or Scottish.Otherwise, the newest 007 film, to be released by Sony Pictures, is making headlines worldwide because it will for the first time ever star an African American man. But Limbaugh is not happy.
On his show, Limbaugh recently commented, “James Bond was invented, created by Ian Fleming, a former spy, MI6, and James Bond is a total concept put together by Ian Fleming. He was white and Scottish, period. That is who James Bond is. But now Sony is suggesting that the next James Bond should be Idris Elba, a Black Briton rather than a white from Scotland. But that’s not who James Bond is and I know it’s racist to probably even point this out.”
He continued, “We had 50 years of white Bonds because Bond is white. Bond was never Black. Ian Fleming never created a Black Brit to play James Bond. The character was always white. He was always Scottish. He always drank vodka shaken not stirred and all that.”
But Limbaugh is actually wrong in his criticism because in the past, the Bond character has been played by British, American and Australian actors, not just Scottish.
The good news, though, is that Sony Pictures is not budging. Amy Pascal, the company’s co-chairman, has been lobbying for Elba to take over the 007 role. In a leaked email, she said point blank, “Idris should be the next Bond.”