'Crazy Rich Asians' Director Responds to Brenda Song Saying She Was Told She Wasn't 'Asian Enough' to Audition
Jon M. Chu is setting the record straight.
The Crazy Rich Asians director took to Twitter on Wednesday to respond to claims that Brenda Song was told she wasn't "Asian enough" to audition for the film.
In a Teen Vogue article, Song revealed that she asked her managers to get her a meeting or audition for a role in the movie, with her management coming back and telling her that the Crazy Rich Asians team said she wasn't right for a 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," the former Disney Channel star shared. "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?'"
After seeing Song's comments, Chu tweeted that he felt "horrible" that the actress would think that.
"🤷🏻?♂?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!"
🤷🏻?♂?would these words ever come out of my mouth? Nope makes no sense. I feel horrible she thinks this is the reason. 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!
— Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu) November 20, 2019
Song has yet to reply to Chu's comment.
Crazy Rich Asians went on to star Constance Wu and Henry Golding, with Awkwafina becoming a breakout star. When the rom com hit theaters, it rocketed past its projected earnings in its debut and went on to earn $174.5 million domestically and $238.5 million worldwide off a $30 million budget. It also earned two Golden Globe nominations -- one for Best Motion Picture and the other for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for star Wu. A sequel is currently in development.
Meanwhile, ET recently caught up with Song where she talked about her new show, Dollface, as well as what role she would love to revive.
Watch the video below to hear what she said.
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