The Conversation (0)
Greg Evans
Sep 01, 2017
Picture:
Getty Images
Earlier this week, British actor Ed Skrien stepped down from a forthcoming reboot of Hellboy over issues surrounding whitewashing.
The 34-year-old had been cast as Major Ben Daimio, a character who is of Japanese-American descent in the comics.
Whitewashing has become a prevalent issue in Hollywood as of late.
The subject has made headlines during the production and release of blockbusters including Doctor Strange and Ghost in the Shell - where western actors have been cast to play characters who were originally Asian.
It was therefore refreshing to see an actor like Skrein take responsibility and use his prominence to raise the issue once again.
His decision garnered wide-spread praise from many other actors and directors currently working in the industry.
One of the best responses came from Agenst of S.H.I.E.L.D actress Chloe Bennet, who expressed her admiration for Skrein's decision in an Instagram post.
Bennet, who is Chinese American, was then questioned by some about her right to speak on whitewashing as she had previously opted to use the surname Bennet a few years ago, as opposed to her original name of Wang.
The 24-year-old did not hold back on her response, confessing how hard it was to make a living as in Chinese actress, and accusing Hollywood of racism.
Read the full comment below.
Unfortunately, it has since been deleted, but was captured a shared on Twitter, where her honesty was highly appreciated by other high profile stars.
Everyone wanted to thank her for her candour.
Bennet has remained quiet on Instagram and Twitter since the original post, but did provide this excellent response to someone who dared call her a liar.
If you needed any further evidence of Bennet's amazing commitment to representing minority groups, look no further than RUN, a group she is a part of.
RUN is advocacy group that aims to give a voice to Asian American Pacific Islanders, one of the fastest growing racial groups in modern America.