Chinese-Canadian actor Simu Liu, best known for playing the Marvel character Shang- Chi, has just shown that not all superheroes wear capes.
Liu recently appeared on the Canadian reality show Dragon’s Den, a competition where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to investors known as the Dragons (there is a similar show called Shark Tank).
For Sebastien Fiset and Jess Frenette, founders of Quebec-based drinks brand Bobba, it turned into a trial by fire. Their pitch for a “healthier” spin on bubble tea described existing products on the market as “trendy” and “sugary”, and even suggested that consumers “are never quite sure about its content”, which did not sit well with Liu.
While the other Dragons – including investor Manjit Minhas, who is in the drinks business – seemed interested in the product, the Hollywood actor quickly began his line of questioning by addressing the elephant in the room: cultural appropriation.
He noted that the packaging did not make any reference to the Taiwanese origins of bubble tea, and that he also did not like the founders’ pitch that they would be “taking something that’s very distinctly Asian in its identity and, quote unquote, making it better”.
Liu explained that the reason he established his own venture capital firm, Markham Valley Ventures, was to “uplift minority entrepreneurs”, and that Bobba simply wouldn’t fit that goal.
“I would be uplifting a business that is profiting off of something that feels so dear to my cultural heritage. I want to be a part of bringing boba to the masses, but not like this. So, for that reason, I’m out.”
Days after the episode aired, clips of Liu’s comments went viral, resulting in a wave of online backlash against Bobba. Posts on the brand’s Instagram page have been filled with comments questioning its ethics, with many finding fault with Fiset’s insinuation that one can never be sure of what’s in traditional bubble tea.
Plot twist: over the weekend, the actor was compelled to take to his social media to condemn the bullying and harassment that had been directed at Bobba’s founders since.
“Let’s disagree with each other. Let’s critique each other,” he said. “But what we’re not going to do is threaten people’s physical safety.”
On Monday, Bobba’s founders released an official statement on their social media platforms, addressing concerns from the masses.
“Simu Liu raised very valid points regarding cultural appropriation and we welcome this learning opportunity,” the post said. Over six slides of text, they also expressed that they “fully understand the backlash” and attempted to explain away some of their more contentious statements.
“At no point did we mean to insinuate that our Bobba bubble tea is better than traditional bubble tea in any way … Despite our intentions, we take responsibility and are accountable for the impact that this has had.”
They also acknowledge that they should have consulted their Taiwanese partners “to shape the ways in which we give credit to the cultural roots of bubble tea and ensure cultural integrity by properly acknowledging its origins in Taiwanese culture”.
