--- title: Benedict Cumberbatch Apologizes for Using Term 'Colored' description: The Oscar nominee says he was a 'fool' to use the phrase canonical: https://time.com/3683762/benedict-cumberbatch-apologizes-colored-actors/ author: Naina Bajekal article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-27T10:51:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:53:58.768Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Benedict Cumberbatch Apologizes for Using Term 'Colored' og:description: The Oscar nominee says he was a 'fool' to use the phrase og:url: https://time.com/3683762/benedict-cumberbatch-apologizes-colored-actors/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef78a18a40ea57a4/69877c0f428a9e73eecc6ccd/benedict-cumberbatch.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Actor Benedict Cumberbatch attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Benedict Cumberbatch Apologizes for Using Term 'Colored' twitter:description: The Oscar nominee says he was a 'fool' to use the phrase twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef78a18a40ea57a4/69877c0f428a9e73eecc6ccd/benedict-cumberbatch.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Benedict Cumberbatch Apologizes After Race Controversy  by [Naina Bajekal](https://time.com/author/naina-bajekal/)  ## Naina Bajekal Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME. Jan 27, 2015 10:51 AM UTC  Actor Benedict Cumberbatch attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Actor Benedict Cumberbatch attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif.George Pimentel—WireImage/Getty Images  by [Naina Bajekal](https://time.com/author/naina-bajekal/)  ## Naina Bajekal Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME. Jan 27, 2015 10:51 AM UTC Benedict Cumberbatch [apologized Monday](http://www.people.com/article/benedict-cumberbatch-black-actors-opportunities?xid=socialflow%5Ftwitter%5Fpeoplemag) after talking about ‘colored actors’ on a U.S. talk show, saying he’s “devastated to have caused offense.” The _Sherlock_ star came under fire for using the term, ironically during a discussion on the lack of diversity in British acting. He said he had witnessed British actors finding more opportunities in the U.S. than they do in the U.K.. “I think as far as colored actors go, it gets really different in the U.K., and a lot of my friends have had more opportunities here \[in the U.S.\] than in the U.K., and that’s something that needs to change,” he said last week on PBS talk show _Tavis Smiley._ An anti-racism charity, Show Racism The Red Card, told [_The Independent_](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/benedict-cumberbatch-criticised-for-using-term-coloured-to-describe-black-actors-in-conversation-about-industry-diversity-10003113.html)that while they applauded Cumberbatch for shining a spotlight on a a very important issue, he “also inadvertently highlighted the issue of appropriate terminology and the evolution of language.” The charity said the term ‘colored’ is now “outdated and has the potential to cause offense.” The writer Bonnie Greer said: “If he was 80, no one would have noticed. Under 60 — who says “coloured” anymore? It indicates a mindset; a certain circle.” In a statement to [_People_](http://www.people.com/article/benedict-cumberbatch-black-actors-opportunities?xid=socialflow%5Ftwitter%5Fpeoplemag), Cumberbatch [said](http://www.itv.com/news/story/2015-01-26/benedict-cumberbatch-apologises-for-coloured-remark/): “I feel the complete fool I am and while I am sorry to have offended people and to learn from my mistakes in such a public manner, please be assured I have. I apologize again to anyone I offended for this thoughtless use of inappropriate language about an issue which affects friends of mine and which I care about deeply.” _Read next:_ [_Benedict Cumberbatch Inspires a Fashion Line Called ‘Cumberbitch’_](http://time.com/3675894/benedict-cumberbatch-cumberbitch/?xid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3683762/benedict-cumberbatch-apologizes-colored-actors/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3683762/benedict-cumberbatch-apologizes-colored-actors/"},"headline":"Benedict Cumberbatch Apologizes After Race Controversy","datePublished":"2015-01-27T10:51:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:53:58.768Z","description":"The Oscar nominee says he was a 'fool' to use the phrase","url":"https://time.com/3683762/benedict-cumberbatch-apologizes-colored-actors/","keywords":["celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef78a18a40ea57a4/69877c0f428a9e73eecc6ccd/benedict-cumberbatch.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Naina Bajekal","jobTitle":"Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/naina-bajekal/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef78a18a40ea57a4/69877c0f428a9e73eecc6ccd/benedict-cumberbatch.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Actor Benedict Cumberbatch attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif.","caption":"Actor Benedict Cumberbatch attends the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, Calif.","creditText":"George Pimentel—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3683762/benedict-cumberbatch-apologizes-colored-actors/","name":"Benedict Cumberbatch Apologizes After Race Controversy"}}]}] ```