Shang-Chi Star Defends Working With Mark Wahlberg Amid Controversy

Simu Liu, star of Marvel’s upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has defended working with Mark Wahlberg on a new film, amid controversy. Wahlberg transitioned from a career as rapper Marky Mark in the 1990s to acting, and recent years have cast light on some very serious incidents from the star’s past.

Throughout his teenage years growing up in Boston, Wahlberg allegedly participated in at least four attacks that were motivated by the race of his victims. Arguably the most serious of these incidents came when Wahlberg was seventeen and attacked two different Vietnamese men on the same day. In one of the cases, Wahlberg beat a man unconscious with a five-foot wooden stick while verbally racially abusing him. The attack landed Wahlberg an attempted murder charge, though he only ended up serving 45 days of a two-year sentence. More recently, attention has been drawn to Wahlberg for these crimes as well as to an unsuccessful attempt at getting an official pardon. Much criticism has been voiced over Wahlberg’s attacks as well as the Transformers star’s unwillingness to acknowledge them as hate crimes. Actor Simu Liu has previously been vocal about Wahlberg’s crimes, calling him out on social media in 2018.

Related: What Movies You Know Shang-Chi’s Actor Simu Liu From

Though initially outspoken on the racist intent of Wahlberg’s actions as well as the gall required to seek a pardon, Liu has now changed his tune. Addressing the issue via his official Instagram account, Liu posted screen captures of several Twitter users who are criticizing him for deleting his original tweet that condemned Wahlberg’s hate crimes. In some cases, people are even calling for Liu to be canceled after he signed on to star alongside Wahlberg in the upcoming Arthur the King. Defending himself and his actions, Liu wrote:

“I deleted a couple of tweets I made regarding the past actions of one of my costars as a gesture of professionalism and to open to door to progressive conversations and (hopefully) positive change. Obviously it’d be pretty weird to go to work with that tweet still up. I meant what I said in the moment; I was very angry hearing about what happened. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think there’s room to grow and work together to find an opportunity to educate and do some good- which I’m excited to do in addition to shooting the movie. Progressive discussion will lead to dialogue, and dialogue will lead to action.”

As calls to cancel Liu continue, there are also those who are pointing out what they feel is hypocrisy in turning on him now, but not on Wahlberg, after all these years. To date, there have been no negative effects on Wahlberg’s career as a result of his racist acts, yet Liu seems to be the one being punished. In his defense, Liu has offered to “work together” and find an opportunity to “educate and do some good.” Exactly how he intends to do this alongside Wahlberg was not revealed in Liu’s Instagram post, but there’s sure to be much interest in seeing how it’s accomplished. For his part, Wahlberg has yet to comment on either the casting or the controversy that both he and Liu are now a part of.

Perhaps the biggest reason why the public is turning on Liu now is because his outspoken stance on Wahlberg’s past felt authentic to so many. As race relations continue to be a major issue globally, Liu’s decision to delete his opinions on a very important subject comes off as prioritizing his own career and profit above a strong moral stance. Making the decision to co-star with Wahlberg is Liu’s own choice, but the fact that he appears to have crumbled after the first real challenge to his beliefs is a problematic one for the Shang-Chi star.

Next: Shang-Chi: Why Marvel Is Right To Replace Fu Manchu With The Mandarin

Source: Simu Liu via Instagram

About The Author

Mike Jones
(1193 Articles Published)

Mike Jones is an author, screenwriter, world traveller and cinephile. His work has been featured in print and online in a variety of publications, and he’s also a Berlinale Talents alumnus. Cinema has always moved him in a big way and aside from having seen The Talented Mr Ripley more times than any other living person, he maintains a pretty darn healthy physical media collection. His favourite filmmakers include: Jordan Peele, David Lean, Alfred Hitchcock, Mike Leigh, Steven Spielberg, the Dardenne Brothers, Noah Baumbach, Michael Haneke, Barry Jenkins and Andrea Arnold. Often jet-lagged, Mike once turned down a certain A-list celebrity’s offer to join them for a night of partying after a strange encounter in an airport.

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