British actor Idris Elba is normally a private person.
But when his Sabrina Dhowre Elba took to social media to air out a grievance, everyone knew something wasn’t right.
One scroll on her social media shows the poised and graceful 36-year-old wife, model, entrepreneur, and UN Goodwill Ambassador.
But a recent incident turned “hostile” when the S’ABLE Labs co-founder became a target for all the wrong reasons.
On Sunday, June 7, she posted a video detailing how a car accident led to a racist encounter for her.
Sabrina began her video clip by explaining that the mishap — apparently in the United Kingdom — occurred days earlier.
She said she normally avoids using the internet as her diary, but she’s “still sort of like flustered.”
“This woman backed up into my parked car. And when I got out to speak to her about the interaction, it immediately became hostile,” Sabrina explained.
She said the woman — who initially attempted to drive off after the collision — asked where she was from.
Sabrina said she was from Canada, but the woman asked again. She realized the woman wasn’t asking about geography.
“She was trying to change the terms of the interaction,” Elba’s wife said. “And suddenly it wasn’t about the fact that she had hit my car, it was about whether or not I belonged enough to, like, hold her accountable.”
“And this is the part that really bothered me, and the part that I felt I had to come and speak about, because racism isn’t always theatrical. Sometimes it works by redirection conversations, because you ask for accountability and suddenly my presence became the issue,” she continued.
Sabrina, who lives in London with her husband Idris, mentioned the U.K.’s long history with racism.
She said debates over who belongs can give people permission to resent those who don’t look like them.
She explained that incidents like these are often dismissed as misunderstandings. But Sabrina see a pattern.
“That pattern is what’s making people feel increasingly comfortable treating Black and Brown people as conditional citizens, as conditional neighbors, or conditional Londoners,” she continued.
“But in the wrong moment with the wrong person, belonging is still treated like something they have the rights to question,” said Sabrina.
She admitted there was little damage to her car, but she was more upset about their encounter than their collision.
She grew “tired of pretending” that seemingly ordinary moments aren’t “harmful.”
“And right now I think a lot of us can feel it, and the mood is shifting, and people are becoming bolder, and the quiet part is getting louder. And I don’t think we should keep quietly pretending that we haven’t noticed,” she said.
One fan who agreed with Sabrina wrote, “It’s deliberate- the audacity. It’s so sad to think this may get worse.”
Another person who seemed taken aback by the story wrote, “WOW, some people think they are superior!!”
A third person offered consolement and support.
“Sorry that happened to you,” read one comment. “Good for standing your ground and analyzing the situation seeing it for what it is.”
It’s not clear what her husband Idris’ take on the incident is, as he has not publicly commented on the situation.
Idris and Sabrina Elba met in Vancouver in 2017 while he was filming a movie.
The couple got engaged in 2018 and married in April 2019. A year later, they became UN Goodwill Ambassadors. In 2022, they co-founded their skincare brand, S’ABLE Labs.
Idris and Sabrina also received honors at the TIME100 Impact Dinner on June 8 for using their platform to promote social change.
This is Sabrina’s first marriage and Idris’ third. The actor shares daughter Isan Elba, 24, with his first wife, Hanne Norgaard.
His marriage to second wife Sonya Nicole Hamlin ended in an annulment.
