Rush Limbaugh is offering his two cents for when it’s time to cast the next James Bond.
On Tuesday’s The Rush Limbaugh Show, the conservative pundit said that actor Idris Elba should not play the iconic spy in the film franchise. Limbaugh was referring to a leaked email in which Sony co-chairman Amy Pascal reportedly wrote that Elba would be a great choice for the role once Daniel Craig hangs up his tux.
“James Bond is a total concept put together by [author] Ian Fleming,” Limbaugh said. “He was white and Scottish. Period. That is who James Bond is, was.”
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“But now [they are] suggesting that the next James Bond should be Idris Elba, a black Briton, rather than a white from Scotland,” Limbaugh continued. “But that’s not who James Bond is, and I know it’s racist to probably point this out.”
Limbaugh went on to compare casting Elba as Bond to hiring George Clooney to play Barack Obama.
This argument against a black actor playing a traditionally white role mirrors one made by some comic book fans when Elba was cast as Norse god Heimdall in the Thor films.
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Meanwhile, perhaps someone should let Limbaugh know that Bond hasn’t actually been played by a person of Scottish descent since the first actor cast for the part, Sean Connery.
The 24th Bond film, Spectre, is set to be released in 2015.
Email: Ryan.Gajewski@pgmedia.org
Twitter: @_RyanGajewski
