Simu Liu Slams Hollywood For Continued Lack Of Diversity: “[It’s] F**king Appalling”

Star Simu Liu speaks out on a continued lack of diversity in Hollywood productions, specifically talking about the prejudice faced by Asian actors. Liu will appear in Avengers: Doomsday next year, expected to be one of the biggest movies of 2026, reprising his role from 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, one of the better-received MCU installments post-Endgame.

The rising star is among the talent in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, the 2023 cultural phenomenon, portraying the secondary leader of the Kens and hilariously playing off Ryan Gosling’s Ken. Liu also lends his voice to the recent Netflix streaming hit In Your Dreams. His other major credits include Star Wars: Visions, Invincible, Arthur the King, and Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai.

Recently, via Threads, Liu called for the entertainment industry to “put some asians in literally anything right now. the amount of backslide in our representation onscreen is f**king appalling.” The actor went on to point out several major success stories of new movies led by Asian actors, arguing that it is only acceptable for a white actor to have a disastrous flop. Check out his full comments:

studios think we’re “risky”. minari farewell past lives everything everywhere crazy rich shang chi. every single one a financial success. no asian actor has ever lost a studio even close to 100 million dollars but a white dude will lose 200 million TWICE and roll right into the next tentpole lead.

we’re fighting a deeply prejudiced system. and most days it SUCKS.

Multiple movies Liu cites are credited with bringing Asian talent to the forefront of Hollywood in an unprecedented way. Crazy Rich Asians was seen as a milestone, as a massive box office hit with an all-Asian lead cast, while Everything Everywhere All at Once swept the Oscars and allowed Michelle Yeoh to be the first Asian woman to win the Oscar for Best Lead Actress.

Everything Everywhere All at Once also marked the comeback of Ke Huy Quan, who was unable to make it in Hollywood for decades following his iconic roles as a child star because of a lack of opportunities for Asian actors. He also won an acting Oscar for this movie. Minari, The Farewell, and Past Lives were all more understated but still successful and critically acclaimed movies.

In the post-pandemic era, movies that would have once been commercial hits continue to struggle at the box office in general, but Liu argues that Asian actors deal with a harsher fallout for an unsuccessful movie. His comment on Threads was in response to a fan’s post linking to other articles and comments concerning high-profile talent discussing biases in casting in Hollywood.

Liu is set to continue to be a trailblazer in the industry. A Shang-Chi sequel is in development at Marvel with Liu expected to return, while his other upcoming projects include the action fantasy TV series The Copenhagen Test and the action-adventure series Seven Wonders, based on Ben Mezrich’s novel. However, hopefully Hollywood will improve in response to the words of Simu Liu and others.

Birthdate

April 19, 1989

Birthplace

Harbin, Heilongjiang, China

Height

6 feet 0 inches