Daniel Wu Slams Barbie Maker Mattel For Stereotyping Asians As ‘Panda Doctors’ And ‘Violinists’

“Because Barbie can be anything, women can be anything.”

But according to American-Chinese actor Daniel Wu, 49, it seems the iconic line from 2023’s Barbie isn’t matching up to that statement with their latest line of dolls.

On Sunday (Jan 21), the actor posted pictures of two Barbies with Asian features across his social media platforms.

One was dressed as a veterinarian caring for pandas while another had accompanying violin props  – typical stereotypes of Asians in the US.

In a lengthy post, Daniel wrote, “I strongly support diversity. However, an Asian Barbie as ‘You can be anything” is set as a violinist or a panda doctor? It seems more like ‘You can be anyone your Asian parents want you to be.’"

The actor’s socials attracted much attention and celebrities such as Wang Lee Hom liked the post.

Netizens rallied behind Daniel expressing disappointment over the Barbies.

“Come on Barbie, you can do better,” one user wrote.

One even hilariously commented, “My daughter is going to be a doctor. But no way is she going to wear this. Her scrubs would either be from Chanel or Louis Vuitton”.

To be fair, Mattel might have thought they were evolving with their latest dolls.

The first Asian doll by the manufacturer was coined ‘Oriental Barbie’ in 1981 and can be seen as problematic today as the doll was dressed in an outfit that was a mishmash of Chinese, Korean and Japanese ethnic costumes.

The movie Barbie was an international box office success last year and has grossed more than US$1.4bil (S$1.8bil) to date.

Photos: Chinapress, thatdanielwu/Instagram