Simu Liu Calls for an End to Fan Threats Following His Surprise TV Cameo

Simu Liu, best known for his role in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, released in 2021, is currently awaiting confirmation of his return to the MCU. While fans eagerly anticipate news, Liu continues to focus on his career and personal life.

Recently, he appeared as a guest on CBC’s Dragon’s Den, the Canadian version of Shark Tank. During the show, he criticized an aspiring boba company for cultural appropriation. However, his comments led to unintended consequences, as online hate can often escalate quickly.

Following Liu’s remarks, the company’s social media profiles were inundated with negative comments, insults, and even death threats. In response to this backlash, the actor is now taking steps to address the situation and mitigate the fallout.

During his appearance on the show, Liu criticized two entrepreneurs for what he viewed as exploitative profiteering by recreating a product with distinctly Asian origins and heritage.

This topic can be interpreted in various ways, but we won’t delve into that here, as it’s not the main issue at hand. Whether Liu’s stance is valid is for others to determine. At Comic Basics, we haven’t sampled any products from the company in question, so we can’t express an opinion on something we aren’t familiar with.

Nonetheless, Liu’s comments triggered a viral backlash against the company. While negative reviews are common, the level of insults and even death threats is entirely unacceptable.

This prompted the actor to take to social media to calm the situation and urge fans to cease their harmful behavior.

@simuliu

some thoughts on boba/bobba 🧋lets be kind to each other!

♬ original sound – Simu Liu

Liu addresses the issue in this TikTok video. If you’re unable to view it, here’s a summary of what the actor said:

What it is, how is something exploitative rather kind of paying homage and paying respect, when is that line crossed, and in that conversation, by the way, I’ve experienced a massive wave of positivity and support from people from every community and I just think that’s really incredible, and I really appreciate that.

On the flip side, I’ve been made aware that the business owners have received a lot of death threats and harassment and otherwise just kind of bullying and dogpiling, and I just want to say that, full stop, it’s never okay to make threats. It’s never okay to bully and harass online.

[I don’t] want the legacy of this segment to be pitchforks and people fearing for their safety. I think we’re starting to lose the plot of what, ultimately, the positive energy of what this is, which is let’s educate people, let’s make the world a better place, let’s make people aware that certain things aren’t okay from a cultural perspective.

This is clearly an attempt at damage control, but honestly, we believe Liu didn’t intend for this situation to escalate. He expressed his genuine opinion on an important issue, which is perfectly acceptable, but it’s evident that he didn’t want the backlash that followed.

This video serves as a way for him to take responsibility for his actions and set a positive example for others to follow.

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