Toronto actor Simu Liu clapped back at a Huffington Post article after it claimed he was a token Hollywood actor and there are other, equally deserving Asian actors for the role of Ken in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming film, Barbie.
Liu recently took to Facebook to share some sharp words about the article titled “We Love Simu Liu, But He’s Not The Only Talented Asian Thirst Trap In Hollywood,” by guest writer Ian Kumamoto.
In the article published last month, Kumamoto says when Asian Twitter heard Liu was playing one of the many Kens featured in Barbie, they “collectively scratched its head.”
“Don’t get us wrong — we love Liu, and we’re all for an Asian king thriving. But when a single actor appears to be getting the bulk of Asian male roles in Hollywood, it starts to feel a little less like representation and a lot more like tokenism,” the writer said.
“All we’re saying is, we don’t want a predominantly white Hollywood to gatekeep sexy Asian male representation like it has for decades when there are so many other attractive and talented Asian men who deserve to be seen and appreciated by the general public,” he added.
READ MORE: ‘Barbie’ trailer shows a number of Canadian actors in star-studded cast
Though the article does acknowledge Liu’s portrayal and merit for Marvel superhero Shang-Chi, it heavily emphasizes the vast range of Asian actors who they say should also be seen and appreciated in Hollywood.
For instance, the article suggests other “hot East Asian” actors who could have been perfect for the role of Ken, such as Manny Jacinto from The Good Place, Mortal Kombat’s Ludi Lin, Kevin Kreider from Bling Empire and Beef’s Steven Yeun, among others.
According to Kumamoto, these are recommendations circulating amongst Asian Twitter.
SIMU LIU CLAPS BACK
In response, Liu called the HuffPost article “the trashest take” in a Facebook caption on May 4. He further added “I’m not a ‘thirst trap’ I’m a f*cking actor.”
“Way to attempt to pit us against one another. What ‘bulk’ of roles are you referring to? Are there movies I’m in that I’m not aware of? Do you really think that there is a quota of ‘Asian male roles’ that is a zero-sum game?” Liu wrote.
“Every thing I have taken post Shang-Chi was not written Asian. We’ve been able to reshape stories to get more representation onscreen. Get your facts straight,” the star continued.
Liu’s post attracted hundreds of comments from fans showing their support.
“That dude said hold up Simu got cast in TWO MOVIES???!!!? Imma need to write a thinkpiece,” the top comment read.
“People just hate seeing others be successful! You earned these roles!” another user said.
“Lol when I saw this a couple weeks ago I was like wtf you don’t have to bring others down to bring others up…Why can’t we all be supporting and uplifting of everyone,” another user wrote.
Meanwhile, others agreed with the premise of the article but believed the execution was poorly delivered.
“They’re not wrong. We should have more Asian actors AND roles in Hollywood. Glad you’re enjoying some success, but perhaps use your success to open the door for others,” one comment read.
“I think it’s good that you were able to get these roles that were not originally written for an Asian actor, and maybe the framing was bad, but the kernel of truth in the article is that there is a tendency to keep casting the same handful of Asians over and over,” another user said.
“And so it isn’t really creating more opportunities for other Asian actors, or improving the broader perception of Asian men (instead it’s just these few Asian men who are considered to be the exception to the negative stereotypes)…” they added.
Moreover, fans say the article should’ve tackled the real issue at hand which is the lack of roles and stories in television and film for Asian people.
