Nothing personal.
Lashana Lynch, a black, British-born actress playing 007 in the 2021 film, “No Time to Die,” brushed off negative comments she received when her iconic role was announced.
The 32-year-old told Harper’s Bazaar UK that she realized the criticism would be the same had any other black actress taken on the task of being the first female to play 007.
“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 said. “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 coped with the backlash by staying off of social media for a week, meditating and only seeing her family.
The actress, whose character Nomi inherits the 007 title from James Bond in the upcoming film, said she feels “grateful” that she gets to “challenge those narratives.”
“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,” she said.
In February, Lynch, who is of Jamaican descent, said of her ground-breaking role, “It is an honor to be able to proudly fly our big Jamaican flag up in MI6 as a 00 agent.”
She also previously starred as pilot and single mother Maria Rambeau in “Captain Marvel.”