Sir Roger Moore appears unperturbed by the controversy surrounding his comment regarding Idris Elba as potential James Bond and simply pointed out that the claim is "untrue" and words were put in his mouth, according to The Guardian.
"An interview I gave to Paris Match implies I said something racist about Idris Elba," the former Bond star posted on his Twitter account on Saturday. "That is simply untrue. #Lost in translation," he clarified.
Moore's disputed comment was uttered when the interviewer asked him if the actor playing the highly sought after character should be English - to which he responded that the Bond actor "should be 'English-English.'"
"Although James may have been played by a Scot, a Welshman and an Irishman, I think he should be 'English-English.' Nevertheless, it's an interesting idea, but unrealistic," Moore was quoted saying. Indubitably, the comment garnered massive criticism in social media with celebrities even participating in the discussion.
However, Moore was quick to point out that his remark was taken out of context. He shared that he was not specifically referring to Elba but merely responding to the question posed by the reporter. Hence, he could not have uttered such racist comments against the The Wire actor.
One of the personalities who commented on Moore's statement is broadcaster Piers Morgan who posted, "Love @sirrogermoore & he's not a racist. He's wrong though - @idriselba would make a brilliant James Bond."
Even boxer Lennox Lewis joined in the issue as he shared his thoughts on Twitter as well, "I heard #RogerMoore was misquoted. I hope so because I think @idriselba would make a great 007. What do u think?"
To date, Elba has not released any statement regarding the comments made by the 87-year-old star. However, this is not the first time the Luther actor was involved in a controversy regarding the color of his skin. Elba got embroiled in an intense debate when he was chosen to play Heimdall, a Norse god, for the mythical hero movie, Thor, in 2010.
In response to the complaints about his selection to portray the character, Elba said, "Hang about, Thor's mythical, right? Thor has a hammer that flies to him when he clicks his fingers. That's OK, but the color of my skin is wrong."
