James Bond Author Called Idris Elba ‘Too Street’ to Play 007 and the Internet Is Not Happy

Idris Elba at the 87th Annual Academy Awards on February 22, 2015 in Hollywood, California.

The Wire actor is long rumored to be a candidate for the coveted role

In an interview with the Daily Mail published on Aug. 29, Anthony Horowitz, the author commissioned by Ian Fleming’s estate to pen the next James Bond novel, aired his opinion on casting for the next Bond movie. When asked about Idris Elba, a fan favorite for the role, Horowitz responded, “For me, Idris Elba is a bit too rough to play the part. It’s not a colour issue. I think he is probably a bit too ‘street’ for Bond.” He suggested Adrian Lester, the star of the BBC series Hustle, as an alternative.

In the wake of Horowitz’s remarks, many people took to social media to call his choice of words, and especially the word “street,” racially coded. Some compared the use of “street” to the word “urban,” which is often used to imply blackness in a narrow and sometimes derogatory way.