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Simu Liu was a guest dragon on CBC‘s Dragons’ Den, the Canadian version of Shark Tank.
After a clip of Liu criticizing a boba company for cultural appropriation went viral, some fans have taken it upon themselves to send death threats, something that the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star is condemning.
“I want to say that I think we hit on a really important discussion about cultural appropriation, what it is, how is something exploitative rather kind of paying homage and paying respect, when is that line crossed, and in that conversation, by the way, I’ve experienced a massive wave of positivity and support from people from every community and I just think that’s really incredible and I really appreciate that,” Liu said in a video he shared on TikTok. “On the flip side, I’ve been made aware that the business owners have received a lot of death threats and harassment and otherwise just kind of bullying and dogpiling, and I just want to say that, full stop, it’s never okay to make threats. It’s never okay to bully and harass online.”
Liu noted that he doesn’t “want the legacy of this segment to be pitchforks and people fearing for their safety. I think we’re starting to lose the plot of what, ultimately, the positive energy of what this is, which is let’s educate people, let’s make the world a better place, let’s make people aware that certain things aren’t okay from a cultural perspective.”
The Marvel star also came to the defense of his fellow dragons, adding, “Regardless of what they said or what they did or did not do while the camera was rolling, in the break room, everyone was all ears. Everyone was like, ‘I want to hear more about what your perspective is. Let’s have a conversation.’ I really wish that that had been filmed.”
The company Bobba appeared on Dragons’ Den Season 19 looking for investors. As the Canadian owners were pitching their company, Liu weighed in, saying, “There’s an issue of taking something that’s very distinctly Asian in its identity and quote-unquote ‘making it better,’ which I have an issue with.”
Bobba sells bottled boba tea, which originated in Taiwan and has since grown in popularity in the U.S. Following the backlash, the company issued an apology on social media.
“We know our choice of words was misguided and understand peoples’ reactions,” read the statement. “What we were trying to do is celebrate that many other cultures are now enjoying this wonderful drink. Our choice of words was wrong when trying to explain our point, and for that, we are extremely sorry.”
The statement later said, “At no point did we mean to insinuate that our Bobba bubble tea is better than traditional bubble tea in any way.”
Watch the Dragons’ Den clip below.
