Simu Liu Accused Of “Insulting China” After 2017 Interview Shows Him Calling China “Third World”
The Shang-Chi star was born in Harbin, China and moved to Canada with his parents when he was five.
Looks like China not only has an issue with Marvel Studio’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which has yet to have a release date in the mainland, but also its star Simu Liu.
The 32-year-old Chinese-Canadian, who plays the titular character in the Asian-led superhero movie, has been accused of insulting China after pro-China online forum Diba shared screenshots of a video interview Simu did for the 150th anniversary of Canada in 2017.
In the interview, the Harbin-born Simu recalled how his parents would tell him about the living conditions when they were in China.
"When I was young, my parents would tell me these stories about growing up in communist China. They lived in the third world where you have people dying of starvation. And they felt that Canada is a place where they can live freely and give their child a better future,” recounted Simu, who moved to Canada with his parents when he was five.
Chinese netizens were not pleased
Unsurprisingly, the remarks did not sit well with Chinese netizens who slammed him for "insulting China".
“If that’s the case, why does he still want to act as a Chinese?” said one netizen, while another wrote: “Has he thought that many years later, he would have to come to China to grovel?”
There were also netizens who said that it is a good thing that Shang-Chi has not been approved to be released in China.
Simu as Shang-Chi
Even though Shang-Chi is seen as a milestone for Asian representation in Hollywood, it has been snubbed in China.
While there is no official explanation as to why the movie is not being released there, speculation is rife that the country's censors have taken issue with the racist origins of the Shang-Chi comic book.
Tony Leung’s villainous Wenwu (originally named the Mandarin) was believed to be inspired by Dr Fu Manchu, a fictional character that’s now considered a racist Chinese caricature.
Photos: Simu Liu/Instagram
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