James Bond Author Anthony Horowitz Apologizes for Idris Elba ‘Too Street’ Comments  

Anthony Horowitz, the author behind the most recent book in the James Bond series, has apologized for remarks he made in regards to Idris Elba’s being “too street” for a Bond movie.

Horowitz’s comments were made during a recent interview with the Daily Mail, and sparked conversation about what exactly “too street” means, and its connotation with regards to the black community.

Although Horowitz said that his comments were not a “color issue” during the interview, many people realize (and if you don’t, that’s on you) that oftentimes, “too street” is used to describe black people who are “too black” and is considered a veiled racial remark. Horowitz did offer actor Adrian Lester as an alternative, but didn’t use the loaded descriptor to describe him.

In a post on Twitter, Horowitz expressed that he was mortified that his comments had caused such backlash, and he didn’t mean to cause “offence.”

“Clumsily, I chose the word ‘street’ as Elba’s gritty portrayal of DCI John Luther was in my mind but I admit it was a poor choice of word. I am mortified to have caused offence,” Horowitz posted.

I'm really sorry my comments about Idris Elba have caused offence [full statement attached] pic.twitter.com/UD6ouA45Uv

— Anthony Horowitz (@AnthonyHorowitz) September 1, 2015

While some people may not have understood why Horowitz’s initial comments were offensive:

https://twitter.com/rjtomlin/status/638757554030542848

Others clearly caught wind of what was being said:

@classytart @AnthonyHorowitz "I like this black person, not this black person because he's too street." THEY'RE BOTH ACTORS!

— NemRaps (@NemRaps) September 1, 2015

Elba has not commented on the controversy because he’s too busy somewhere being “suave.”