Simu Liu is known for his role as the titular character in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The actor has been an active advocate against Asian hate and will stand against racism no matter what. He does not hesitate to speak up against something wrong that he sees and quickly became an icon and a beacon of hope for Asian Americans.
During an NBA match, the jumbotron featured an All-Star Celebrity Game which would spot a celebrity lookalike in the crowd. While this is often taken as a fun game during a heated match, this particular incident only backfired for Utah and the game itself. Liu spoke up about it and very casually hinted at how wrong it was.
Simu Liu Points Out Racism In The NBA All-Star Celebrity Game
During an NBA match, the All-Star Celebrity Game was searching for a lookalike for Simu Liu and settled on a man who looked nothing like him. This created a lot of ruckus amongst fans as the only reason the member of the crowd was chosen was that he was an Asian individual. The actor commented on this by saying how even though it is supposed to be a light-hearted thing, something like this only promotes racism.
“I had a great time but this wasn’t cool.”
Fans Support Simu Liu In His Stand Against The All-Star Celebrity Game
When the fans learned of what had happened, they immediately chose to side with the actor and were surprised by how anyone would think something like that would have been a good idea. They focus on how it was unprofessional and accused them of being racist toward Asian Americans.
Not fair to you or the person sitting in the stands.
Both of you were treated pretty unfairly in this instance.
— Justin Zoras (@JustinZoras) February 18, 2023
Wow! Seriously? Someone running the fan cam definitely needs training on appropriateness. It was fun watching you play tonight. Sorry the FanCam operator is so insensitive.
— ASUSparky#1 (@AZSparky911) February 18, 2023
Oh absolutely not.
— Nathalie Emmanuel (@missnemmanuel) February 18, 2023
Its Salt Lake—UTAH. Are we surprised? No.
Disappointed? Big time.— Aquino Loayza 🏳️🌈🇵🇪 Horror Writer. (@AquinoAuthor) February 18, 2023
Whoever thought this was a good idea should be fired
— Adam Robles (@runwithrobles) February 18, 2023
I hate this. @SimuLiu from one Asian person to another who has also experienced this kind of stuff in the state of Utah, I really am sorry this happened. Please know majority of us here DO like you and DONT think you look alike.
— yunnie (@yunniekim) February 18, 2023
yea there's not a whole lot of positives with this bit. it's either compare white people with white people or be racist lol
— Andy Cortez (@TheAndyCortez) February 18, 2023
The fans are confused as well as disappointed as to why this was even done in the first place. People from Utah have even stepped forward to apologize to the actor for what the All-Star Celebrity Game did.
Source: @SimuLiu on Twitter
