Constance Wu is the latest actress to lash out against the lack of diversity in Hollywood.
On Friday, the “Fresh Off the Boat” star posted a statement on Twitter that blasted Matt Damon’s upcoming film, “The Great Wall.” In the film, the 45-year-old actor plays a soldier in ancient China who defends the Great Wall against a mythical attack. RELATED: Hollywood and Asian cinema merge in ‘The Great Wall’ The casting decision quickly attracted the attention — and disapproval — of Wu. “We have to stop perpetuating the racist myth that a only white man can save the world. It’s not based in actual fact,” she wrote. “Our heroes don’t look like Matt Damon. They look like Malala. Ghandi. Mandela.”
Can we all at least agree that hero-bias & “but it’s really hard to finance” are no longer excuses for racism? TRY pic.twitter.com/mvNet5PrtH
— Constance Wu (@ConstanceWu) July 29, 2016
Wu is one of several people to point out the lack of Asian representation in Hollywood, an issue that has gained noticeable traction recently — earlier this year, Scarlett Johansson’s casting in a remake of the Japanese anime “Ghost in the Shell” and Tilda Swinton’s portrayal of a Tibetan character in “Doctor Strange” both drew heavy criticism of Hollywood’s “whitewashing” tendencies. “The Great Wall” is scheduled for release in February 2017.
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Hours after publishing her statement, Wu followed up with another tweet to clear the air with Damon. “For the millionth time it’s NOT abt blame. Not blaming Damon, the studio, the Chinese financiers. It’s not about blame, It’s about AWARENESS,” she wrote.