Lashana Lynch is a black British actress from the United Kingdom who has been cast to play 007 in the upcoming James Bond movie No Time To Die, which is due to be released in 2021.

Since news broke that Lynch, 32, had been cast as the first female to play 007, she has been hit with backlash from fans who are unhappy about the casting choice. In a new interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK, however, Lynch shrugged this off by saying that she feels that any black actress would have been hit with the same backlash that she has been getting for taking the iconic role.

“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,” Lynch 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.”

The actress went on to say that she has made it a priority to represent black people onscreen in a real way, and she feels that she did that in this James Bond movie.

“A character that is too slick, a cast-iron figure? That’s completely against what I stand for,” Lynch explained. “I didn’t want to waste an opportunity when it came to what Nomi might represent. I searched for at least one moment in the script where Black audience members would nod their heads, tutting at the reality but glad to see their real life represented. In every project I am part of, no matter the budget or genre, the Black experience that I’m presenting needs to be 100 percent authentic.”

Lynch also said that she had no problem taking a role that had been traditionally played by men for over fifty years, since the very first James Bond movie was released back in 1962.

“I feel very grateful that I get to challenge those narratives,” she said. “We’re moving away from toxic masculinity, and that’s happening because women are being open, demanding and vocal, and calling out misbehavior as soon as we see it.”