Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu is speaking out after actress Brenda Song claimed she wasn’t “Asian enough” to audition for the film. Taking to Twitter shortly after the allegations were made, Chu, responding to an Entertainment Weekly tweet about Song’s claim, wrote that he felt “horrible” that Song felt the way that she did while also denying her accusations.
“would these words ever come out of my mouth? Nope makes no sense. I feel horrible she thinks this is the reason,” Chu wrote. “The fact is I love Brenda Song and am a fan. I didn’t need her to audition because I already knew who she was!”
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On Thursday, Chu again took to the social media platform to address the accusations, this time sharing a 2018 article about the open casting call for the 2018 film.
“One of my favorite memories of making [Crazy Rich Asians] was when we opened the auditions to anyone in the world with our open call,” he wrote. “We watched hundreds & hundreds of videos from very talented people from all around the world. Made us tear up many times.”
In the article, it was noted that in early 2017, Chu had shared a YouTube video inviting people all around the world to upload their two-minute audition videos to Facebook, YouTube or Twitter to be considered for the role. The move to combat what Chu called “the system,” which limits the number of Asian and Asian American actors.
Chu’s response came just hours after Song in a Teen Vogue interview made the allegations, revealing that after she asked her managers to get her a meeting or audition for a role in the movie, her team came back with the news that the Crazy Rich Asians team said she wasn’t right for the role.
“Their reasoning behind that, what they said was that my image was basically not Asian enough, in not so many words. It broke my heart,” she claimed. “I said, ‘This character is in her late to mid-20s, an Asian American, and I can’t even audition for it? I’ve auditioned for Caucasian roles my entire career, but this specific role, you’re not going to let me do it? You’re going to fault me for having worked my whole life?’ I was like, ‘Where do I fit?’”
Song, who is currently starring in the Hulu series Dollface and broke out into the entertainment industry on Disney Channel, has not yet responded to Chu’s remarks.
