Actress Lashana Lynch was recently tapped as the next star to play international spy James Bond for the upcoming flick, No Time to Die.
However, following the announcement, fans of Bond were outraged at the cast and made their feelings known. During a recent interview with Harpers Bazaar, Lynch talked in-depth about making history as the first-ever Black female to take on the role.
“A character that is too slick, a cast-iron figure? That’s completely against what I stand for,” she told the publication. ‘I didn’t want to waste an opportunity when it came to what Nomi might represent. I searched for at least one moment in the script where Black audience members would nod their heads, tutting at the reality but glad to see their real life represented. In every project I am part of, no matter the budget or genre, the Black experience that I’m presenting needs to be 100 percent authentic.”
Despite the honor, Lynch says she was forced to delete her social media applications following the announcement due to the abuse she was subjected to at the hands of the disgruntled Bond purists.
“I am one Black woman – if it were another Black woman cast in the role, it would have been the same conversation, she would have got the same attacks, the same abuse,” she says. “I just have to remind myself that the conversation is happening and that I’m a part of something that will be very, very revolutionary.”
Lynch is optimistic about the impact of her role in No Time to Die — relishing the opportunity to flip stereotypes on their head.
“I feel very grateful that I get to challenge those narratives,” she mused. “We’re moving away from toxic masculinity, and that’s happening because women are being open, demanding and vocal, and calling out misbehaviour as soon as we see it.”
