Simu Liu ignited a conversation about cultural appropriation after he appeared on the Canadian version of Shark Tank, Dragon’s Den.
Liu addressed the controversy of how Bobba, a bubble tea company, culturally appropriated an Asian drink.
The Kim’s Convenience actor took to TikTok on October 13th, to talk about the bullying that had escalated online.
“I think we’re starting to lose the plot.” he said
He explained that people need to educate and spread awareness about what is acceptable and what is not through a cultural perspective.
“Let’s critique each other. Let’s critique this idea of cultural appropriation.” Simu stated.
“But what we’re not going to do is threaten people’s physical safety and make people feel unsafe and cause them trauma that, quite honestly, they don’t deserve as entrepreneurs who, in good faith, attempted to pitch a business.” he went on.
In the recent episode of Dragon’s Den, the company pitched their business to the judges to invest and explained that they have put their own spin on the traditional Taiwanese drink.
The 35-year-old actor didn’t seem too happy with the idea and said that it was borderline cultural appropriation.
The bubble tea company issued an apology statement on TikTok, expressed remorse for their actions and words, and stated they would learn more.
They also said they would re-evaluate their branding and marketing strategies to be more respectful and show a true and accurate representation of the bubble tea’s roots.
