Actor Simu Liu lashed out at the film industry Sunday night. Using his Threads account, the star of Marvel’s Shang-Chi wrote, “Put some Asians in literally anything right now.” He followed that with a claim that Asian representation on screen is backsliding, which he finds “appalling.”
Simu Liu took to Threads on Sunday to post a fiery message about the “backslide” of Asian representation in Hollywood:
“Put some Asians in literally anything right now. The amount of backslide in our representation onscreen is f—ing appalling. Studios think we are risky.”… pic.twitter.com/3cPfEvl7oH
— Variety (@Variety) November 26, 2025
READ: Cynthia Erivo Will Play Dracula in New Adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Classic
The reason he believes fewer movies are using Asian actors is that “Studios think we are risky.” As a counter-argument, Liu listed a series of Asian-led movies like, Minari, Past Lives, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Crazy Rich Asians, and of course, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
“Every single one a financial success,” he noted.
All of the movies on his list — except one — are currently stand-alone comedies or dramas. The exception is Liu’s own Shang-Chi, a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) entry from 2021 with no sequel in sight. It’s confirmed that his character will appear in Avengers: Doomsday, but recent comments online suggest that he wants to be the leading man again.
Shang-Chi Sequel Drama
Liu drew attention last September when Warner Bros. announced it had greenlit a sequel to Superman just weeks after the movie’s release. While Liu’s only comment was a blank-faced emoji, the implication was that he felt slighted by the MCU.
😐
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) September 4, 2025
While Shang-Chi made a respectable $432 million at the worldwide box office, it may have done better had it released in the Chinese market. Unfortunately, in 2017 the Chinese-born actor described China as a “third-world” country where “people were starving.” Shang-Chi was consequently rejected by the Chinese film censors.
Superman, it should be noted, pulled in a modest $7 million in its debut weekend in China.
But one doesn’t have to go all the way to China to find audiences Liu has alienated. The outspoken actor has managed to accomplish that much closer to home.
Culinary Conflicts
While appearing on Dragon’s Den, a Canadian version of Shark Tank, in October 2024, Liu stirred up a new controversy. A pair of Quebec City entrepreneurs pitched their take on boba tea to Liu, who accused them of cultural appropriation and “taking something that is very distinctly Asian in its identity and, quote unquote, ‘making it better.'” He also described the culture that created Boba as “my culture.”
Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) in Marvel Studios‘ SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS. Photo by Jasin Boland. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Boba originated in Taiwan, not Liu’s native China, and he was summarily ridiculed online for suggesting that all Asian cultures are the same.
Most recently, Liu engaged in an online war of words with Vince Dao. The conservative commentator criticized a video of a man eating rice with his hands. Based on his own family’s Vietnamese and Italian traditions, Dao called the practice “barbaric” and “gross.”
Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) in Marvel Studios’ SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS. Photo by Jasin Boland. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
READ: Stranger Things Makes Netflix History With All Four Seasons in the Top 10 at Once
Liu fired back: “You don’t have authority on jack s**t, you’re just putting your own culture down to try to make yourself more palatable to white conservatives you dumb b***h.” This sort of reaction isn’t uncommon online, but hardly a good look for an actor looking to lead major films.
Despite Liu’s claims, Hollywood seems ready to tell stories of all ethnic backgrounds — Asians included.
The Actors
Anyone who’s been to the movies recently might be surprised to learn that “studios think [Asians] are risky.” Even if we overlook the awesome success of anime at the US box office, Liu’s argument doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.
Michelle Yeoh in Star Trek: Section 31 – YouTube, Paramount Plus
Geeks + Gamers has a long list of Asian actors who are headlining films right now. A few notable examples are:
- Michelle Yeoh in Wicked and Wicked: For Good
- Ke Huy Quan in Love Hurts and Zootopia 2
- Jackie Chan in Karate Kid: Legends and the just-announced Rush Hour 4
Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio as Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso in Karate Kid Legends – YouTube, Sony Pictures Entertainment
In the end, Liu’s issue doesn’t appear to be a lack of Asian representation in Hollywood — it’s a lack of Simu Liu representation. And that may be a problem of his own making.
Do you think Hollywood is biased against Asians? Or just Simu Liu? Let us know in the comments!
UP NEXT: Disney Dominates Children’s & Family Emmy Nominations — But Are Viewers Watching?
There are no Asian stars in The West outside kung-fu films, which seem to be out of fashion. Why? Because audiences prefer to watch movies with men of their own race. That’s a fact. Ignore it and you lose money. A case in point, they put that Asian guy out of Squid Game into a Star Wars show, and that flopped. I also think the casting of Finn and Darth Emu also hurt Star Wars. It all seems DEI, not Star Wars any more. Mary Sue Rey also seems not to fit in with the spirit of the great 1970s/80s movies.
The remaining white guys from those movies were humiliated in the Disney Star Wars.
“There are no Asian stars in The West outside kung-fu films…” “Because audiences prefer to watch movies with men of their own race.” “A case in point, they put that Asian guy out of Squid Game into a Star Wars show, and that flopped.”
Are you even listening to what you’re saying? Those are the same arguments the woke use to justify race swapping and forced inclusion. As for Disney Star Wars, that was doomed from the start no matter who they cast.
Name an Asian star who can make a movie a hit, in the West, then.
It’s Simp Liu who’s biased here. Mostly because *he’s* the one Hollywoke finds risky. He was never a draw and he’s so partisan he’s repellant to society at large. His attitude reminds me of Peter Dinklage when he tried to gatekeep other little people from getting acting roles, except Simp is not popular and does not have any major hits under his belt.
He’s so angry, because like the Johnny Cash song, he’s a boy named siu.