Brenda Song has revealed that she wasn’t given the chance to audition for Crazy Rich Asians because she “wasn’t Asian enough”.
The film’s director Jon M. Chu has since responded to Song’s claims.
Song has appeared in the likes of The Social Network, but has revealed that she never got the change to audition for Chu’s 2018 film.
“A lot of people don’t know this, but I never got to read for ‘Crazy Rich Asians,’ ever,” she said in a new interview with Teen Vogue.
She explained: “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.
“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?'”
Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu has now responded to Song’s claim, tweeting that he feels “horrible” that Song would believe that this was the reason that she couldn’t apply for the role.
??♂️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
“would these words ever come out of my mouth?” Chu tweeted. “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!”
Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding has recently spoken to NME about the possibility of a second film, along with his new movie Last Christmas. Watch the full interview above.