This Jan. 21, 2018 file photo shows actor-director Idris Elba at the Music Lodge during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Elba confirmed in a Vanity Fair cover article that he will not be the next James Bond. (Photo by Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP, File)
LONDON (AP) --
Even though Idris Elba isn't trying to become the next James Bond, he's disheartened that some people don't think he should be considered for the spy role because he's black.
The British actor says in the August issue of Vanity Fair that it's frustrating that there are people who say "'It can't be.' And it really turns out to be the color of my skin."
Some have speculated that the "Luther" star would make the perfect Bond. Elba says although Bond is a coveted, beloved character that he would be fascinated to play, he doesn't need to put himself in the position of questioning whether a stint as Bond did or didn't work "because of the color of my skin."
Elba stars in "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw" due in theaters in August.
President Donald Trump speaks at the Governors Working Session in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (Pool via AP)
The Associated Press sued three Trump administration officials Friday over access to presidential events, citing freedom of speech in asking a federal judge to stop the 10-day blocking of its journalists.
The lawsuit was filed Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
The AP says its case is about an unconstitutional effort by the White House to control speech — in this case refusing to change its style from the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America," as President Donald Trump did last month with an executive order.
"The press and all people in the United States have the right to choose their own words and not be retaliated against by the government," the AP said in its lawsuit, which names White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
"This targeted attack on the AP's editorial independence and ability to gather and report the news strikes at the very core of the First Amendment," the news agency said. "This court should remedy it immediately."
In stopping the AP from attending press events at the White House and Mar-a-Lago, or flying on Air Force One in the agency's customary spot, the Trump team directly cited the AP's decision not to fully follow the president's renaming.
"We're going to keep them out until such time as they agree that it's the Gulf of America," Trump said Tuesday.
This week, about 40 news organizations signed onto a letter organized by the White House Correspondents Association, urging the White House to reverse its policy against the AP.
