Lashana Lynch calls backlash to her James Bond casting ‘ridiculous’

Lashana Lynch has called the backlash at her alleged casting as the new 007 in No Time Die “ridiculous.”

There has been increased speculation that the 32-year-old’s character Nomi will use the famous spy name in the blockbuster, inheriting it after Daniel Craig’s James Bond retired.

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Some sections of the internet were incensed by this news, which became so bad that Lynch decided to delete her social media accounts. Lynch responded to this abuse at the GQ Men Of The Year Awards, where she was handed the breakthrough actress accolade.

Watch: No Time To Die trailer

According to The Evening Standard, when asked about the response, Lynch said, “White patriarchy will always have something to say when it comes to things like that. But the magnitude of it was ridiculous.”

Lynch also took this opportunity to point out that the fact her casting was so controversial just underlined how racist the film industry and society in general still are.

“The fact that you have to celebrate it, like it’s this New Age thing, like black people have just arrived on the planet. That’s what annoys me about the idea of Idris Elba being ‘the black Bond’ … For my community, those are really big things, but for the world, I need you to not care about it.”

Originally scheduled for release all the way back in April, No Time To Die will now finally arrive in cinemas on April 2, 2021. Anticipation surrounding the blockbuster is obviously huge, too, especially since it will mark Daniel Craig’s farewell as James Bond.

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Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, who has co-written it alongside Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Robert Wade, and Neal Purvis, No Time To Die will also star Rami Malek, Lea Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, and Ralph Fiennes.