Simu Liu, the Chinese-Canadian star of the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero hit “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”, has had his old tweets dredged up for potentially offensive, even racist comments. But now the reaction to those comments has turned into a tide of anti-Asian screeds in response.
According to VICE,
One tweet from the star of the long-anticipated Asian superhero movie, drew most of the anger: the now-deleted 2012 tweet where Liu had said, “I thought I was at a Nicki Minaj concert for 20 minutes, before I realized it was a homeless man yelling at a pigeon.” Not only did this tweet set off Nicki Minaj stans on the Kim’s Convenience actor, but it also led to some social media users suggesting that despite his speeches about his immigrant status, Liu was anti-Black.
VICE, Marvel’s First Asian Superhero Is Getting Called Out for Old ‘Racist’ Tweets
Now the response and commenters calling out Shimu for his potential racism are turning into a flagrant display of offensive anti-Asian stereotypes and racism.
The conversation around whether Liu’s tweets were racist or not sparked a tirade of anti-Asian hate. Some users began quote tweeting Liu, hurling nasty anti-Asian sentiments that assumed he ate dogs or couldn’t see because of his “eyes”.
VICE, Marvel’s First Asian Superhero Is Getting Called Out for Old ‘Racist’ Tweets
We guess this proves the old theory that every action provokes an equal and opposite REaction. It’s up to Liu to calm the waters and prove that his tweets were youthful mistakes and not representative of who he is. But using offensive anti-Asian hate to attack his indiscretion doesn’t solve any problem.
