Idris Elba Says #MeToo Movement Is 'Only Difficult if You're a Man with Something to Hide'

Idris Elba is receiving praise for his support of the #MeToo movement

Idris Elba is receiving praise for his support of the #MeToo movement.

In an interview with The Times newspaper in the UK, the 46-year-old actor was asked how hard it was for him as an actor in Hollywood during the #MeToo era.

Elba replied, “It’s only difficult if you’re a man with something to hide.”

Ava DuVernay, 46, quoted his statement in a tweet, writing, “Preach, brother. Preach.”

Shonda Rhimes and Barack Obama‘s former senior advisor, Valerie Jarrett, also praised the star on the Twitter.

“See?” Rhimes, 48, tweeted, while Jarrett, 62, wrote, “Listen up, fellas, ‘It’s only difficult if you are a man with something to hide.” – ⁦@idriselba⁩ about #MeToo.'”

Rosanna Arquette responded to Rhimes’ tweet, writing, “I love him.”

Fans of the actor shared his message wildly on Twitter, with one writing, “Idris Elba knows the score.” Another commented, “And that’s that on that.”

A third fan tweeted, “And we have a winner! This is the right answer: ‘It’s Only Difficult If You Are A Man With Something To Hide.’”

Elba, who was crowned PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive in November, has been vocal about his support for the movement and women in film.

While promoting his film Molly’s Game in 2017, Elba said the #MeToo movement was “quite poignant.”

“Of course, this is a film that was made a year ago, and probably prepped two or three years ago, but to come out when its coming out now is actually quite amazing when we’re seeing women stand up and have a liberation movement of speaking up against some of their atrocities that [have] happened,” he told Den of Geek.

RELATED VIDEO: Idris Elba Shows Off His Dance Moves During Anniversary Celebration with Fiancée Sabrina Dhowre

That same year, he told the Press Association via The Irish News he found it “refreshing” to act in a movie with a female lead while referring to his Molly’s Game costar Jessica Chastain.

“It’s nice to have a character that is a strong, interesting character and also be a woman,” he said. “It’s definitely refreshing to have a lead character as a female lead and really complex and great.”