Photo via Flickr Creative Commons by Gage Skidmore
Simu Liu, the star of the upcoming Marvel movie Shang-Chi, shot down a casting call for a Chinese/Korean mom without too many Asian features.
The notice for a Kinder Joy commercial from Paladino Casting angered Liu who tweeted the notice with a blunt greeting: “F*ck you. Signed A Proudly-Monolidded Asian.”
The notice that upset him listed very specific features sought for the role:
“Eyes: Although almond-shaped, not too down turned eyes. No monolid. Black colored eyes. No missing teeth.”
Some 20 hours later, Paladino Casting responded with an apology.
“This week my company received and posted a casting notice by a client that was both racist and offensive. Posting this as received without pushing back against a language it contained was an inexcusable oversight by all of us here.
“I sincerely apologize to our community of actors for the fact that this was released as received.”
The apology went on to condemn systematic racism. It went to call for rejection of “stereotyping and harmful generalizations.”
According to Micky, a publication out of Australia, Liu is feeling the pressure of being the first Asian lead in a Marvel superhero movie. Some have trolled him for his honest comments on social issues. The movie has been in development for decades. At one time, Micky reports the late Stan Lee had said the character was inspired by Bruce Lee himself, and at one time, sought his son, Brandon for the role.He died during filming of The Crow in 1993.
Michelle Yeoh, Ronny Cheng and Awkwafina are also reportedly cast for the movie which is now set for a July 2021 release.
(Editor Note: Due to a typo, an earlier version of this article listed the incorrect year of Brandon Lee’s death. It has been corrected)
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In 1973 Brandon Lee was only 8 yo. He did not die until 1993. A year before the Crow was released.