Anthony Horowitz, the author who called Idris Elba is "too street" to play James Bond, redialed and issued an apology on Tuesday after his remarks caused outrage, tweeting that he was "mortifed" that his comments had caused offense.
Giving the author more reason for mortification, Elba himself responded to the comments with a choice Instagram post.
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Elba, who has long been championed on the Internet as the perfect candidate for the role, posted a screen cap of an article regarding Horowitz's apology, responding ever-so-classily: "Always Keep Smiling!! It takes no energy and never hurts," adding, "Learned that from the Street!!"
Always Keep Smiling!! It takes no energy and never hurts! Learned that from the Street!! #septemberstillloveyou A photo posted by Idris Elba (@idriselba) on Sep 1, 2015 at 3:30pm PDT
Horowitz, who wrote the most recent book in the Bond series, Trigger Mortis, had said in an interview with the Daily Mail that he didn't think Elba was right for the part.
"Idris Elba is a terrific actor, but I can think of other black actors who would do it better," he said, suggesting Adrian Lester as one candidate.
"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. Is it a question of being suave? Yeah."
His comments, of course, sparked outrage, causing him to quickly take to Twitter to apologize.
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
Since Elba can be classy about it, we should all take his advice -- "keep smiling."
Isn't 007 supposed to handsome? Glad you think I've got a shot! Happy New year people. pic.twitter.com/3g9lAl2Uo3— Idris Elba (@idriselba) December 27, 2014