British actor, Idris Elba has said that he did not plan to clad a kente cloth to meet Asantehene, Otumfuor Osei Tutu II.
Speaking on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he said he showed up in jeans and was told to wear kente.
Idris Elba said “so I showed up in my jeans. They were like, no, ‘you got to wear this kente cloth’. It was a really fascinating day. I mean, it was beautiful and the tradition was rich.”
The actor was invited to join Otumfuo Osei Tutu II at the first Akwasidae of the year 2023 – a first for him.
He said he was surprised when he received an invite to visit Asantehene, who is a huge fan of his, while he was filming his documentary on gold.
He described his visit to the Manhyia Palace during his time in Ghana as fascinating.
Even though, he was happy Idris Elba was also nervous when meeting Otumfuo Osei Tutu II for the first time especially because he was not familiar with how to keep the Kente cloth stable.
Idris Elba told Stephen Colbert that “so when you meet the king, typically what you have to drop the kente cloth shoulder down a little bit and then shake the King’s hand. It’s part of the tradition like a symbol of respect.”
“This is the first time I’m wearing it and underneath, you just got your shorts on. And my thing kept unravelling. I was like, ‘oh, man, I’m going to meet the king, and it’s going to fall off me and be standing there in my boxers’.”
The actor said he was happy there was no mishap adding “I did my thing gently. It was actually a really beautiful time. I don’t mean to make fun of it. It was very beautiful.”
Idris Elba was at Manhyia Palace on Sunday to pay homage to Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and Asantehemaa Nana Konadu Yiadom III during the Akwasidea in February.
He led his movie production crew to take shots of the events for his shoot.
