The fact that Sony executives even had the audacity to merely consider black Britain-born actor Idris Elba to play the next James Bond caused outrage in far-right conservative circles.
Right-wing flame thrower Rush Limbaugh says it is ridiculous that Elba, who had been considered for the role of 007 for years now, would even come on the Sony radar — because he is black. The subject was broached by the rotund radio show host after leaked emails revealed that Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chair Amy Pascal
“James Bond is a total concept put together by Ian Fleming,” Rush said. “He was white and Scottish. Period. That is who James Bond is, was.”
“Idris should be the next Bond,” Pascal wrote on Jan. 4 to Elizabeth Cantillon, former executive vice president of production for Columbia Pictures.
“Now (they are) suggesting that the next James Bond should be Idris Elba, a black Britain, rather than a white from Scotland,” Limbaugh continued. “But that’s not who James Bond is.”
Limbaugh, who is the radio equivalent of Fox News’ Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly, descended into the ridiculous when he said that casting Elba as Bond would be like George Clooney and Kate Hudson starring as President Barack Obama and the First Lady in a biopic as well as Kelsey Grammer cast as South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela.
“I know it’s racist to probably point this out, but the franchise needs to get with it!” Limbaugh’s racial diatribe continued. “We had 50 years of white Bonds because Bond was white!”
Animus aside, Limbaugh failed to mention that Bond is a fictional character as opposed to the president and first lady and Nelson Mandela being actual people. But far be it for us to allow facts to get in the way of Limbaugh’s invectives.
Furthermore, Limbaugh’s description of what Fleming intended 007 to be is not factual.
While Sean Connery is Scottish, other actors who’ve portrayed the spy are not. Roger Moore, who took on the character from 1973 to 1985, is English. Pierce Brosnan is Irish and starred as Bond from 1995 to 2002. And Australian actor George Lazenby played the part in 1969.
So much for Limbaugh’s faulty arguments.
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