The director of “Crazy Rich Asians” is speaking out after Brenda Song claimed she wasn’t allowed to audition for the movie because she “wasn’t Asian enough.”
During a Teen Vogue interview, the former Disney star, 31, said the production of the groundbreaking romantic comedy — featuring the first all-Asian cast with an Asian-American lead in 25 years — told her managers they weren’t considering her for a role.
“Their reasoning behind that, what they said was that my image was basically not Asian enough, in not so many words,” said Song.
But Jon M. Chu — who helmed the $238 million blockbuster — took to Twitter on Thursday to debunk Song’s assertion.
“Nope. I love @BrendaSong and that sucks if anything of that nature was ever communicated. It’s gross actually. The fact is, obviously I know who she is and didn’t need her to audition. I’m a fan of hers! Nothing more nothing less. Bums me out she thought it was anything but,” he wrote.
But Chu felt compelled to make his point again as he tweeted a follow-up only a few minutes later.
??Nope. I love @BrendaSong and that sucks if anything of that nature was ever communicated. It’s gross actually. The fact is, obviously I know who she is and didn’t need her to audition. I’m a fan of hers! 🤷🏻♂️Nothing more nothing less. Bums me out she thought it was anything but.
— Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu) November 20, 2019
🤷🏻♂️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? 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!”
Meanwhile, in the interview, Song said the news she got from her managers broke her 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?'”
She said she was so upset, she took time off to travel and came back with a new outlook on life.
“I got myself together and said, ‘Brenda, there is only one you, and you can’t change who you are. You can’t change your past.’ I am so grateful for every job that I’ve done,” she confessed.
“All I can do is continue to put good auditions out there, do the best that I can — that’s all I can ask for.”
TooFab has reached out to both Brenda Song and Jon M. Chu for comment.
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