Idris Elba Facing Scrutiny for Wearing This Juneteenth Shirt

Idris Elba faced backlash for his choice of Juneteenth t-shirt from just about everyone — including himself. The actor was self-deprecating when he realized that his shirt struck the wrong chord with followers. Still, some users are not done criticizing the fashion choice.

Elba posted a photo of himself in a black t-shirt with small white letters on the chest, reading “take my…” followed by a descending list of things he would apparently be alright with losing. It read “art, culture, fashion music” and “science,” while right in the middle, the word “life” was crossed out. Many users wrinkled their noses at the message, thinking that Elba was somehow accepting or enabling “culture vultures.” Most said that they would rather not lose anything on Elba’s list, and they shouldn’t have just to save their lives from violence.

As the backlash to the t-shirt grew, Elba deleted the post on all platforms and replaced it with something humorous. He shared a picture of a black T-shirt with the word “deleted” printed in the same place, captioning this rebuttal with a black heart emoji.

Most respondents seemed to appreciate Elba’s unique apology here, though some thought he was not taking his misstep seriously enough. Elba shared his questionable t-shirt on Juneteenth — the anniversary of the day, the last slaves in the United States were freed, which came two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation. On that auspicious holiday, many people were not in the mood for compromises when it came to their culture.

Elba’s shirt, the response to it, and his own self-deprecating reaction are still stirring up discussion on social media. Here is a look at how Twitter is responding to the controversy.

Purchase

Designer

Defense

Timing

Beg to Differ

Revisions

Best Apology