Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of Mulan is facing widespread backlash after the starring actress voiced support for Hong Kong city police’s use of force against the pro-democracy protestors.
“I support the Hong Kong police. You can all attack me now. What a shame for Hong Kong,” Chinese-born Crystal Liu Yifei, the lead actress of Mulan’s live-action remake, posted on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media platform.
Liu immediately faced backlash across social media, with #BoycottMulan becoming a trending topic around the world with over 70,000 tweets posted by the time of writing.
#BoycottMulan even became a Twitter moment.
People took to social to call out Liu’s support for police brutality as a naturalized American citizen.
One person wrote; Liu is a naturalized American citizen. It must be nice. Meanwhile, she pisses on people fighting for democracy.”
“She lives in America, her family is in America, she’s a citizen who enjoys all the protection and privileges of any American. That includes freedom of speech. If she wanted to, she could be a powerful voice for justice, but instead, she supports this brutality,” another person wrote on Twitter, adding the hashtag #boycottMulan.
Others incorporated gifs from the original Disney animated Mulan in their tweets.
One person wrote, “Mulan actress basically saying ‘I support the Hong Kong police (brutality), bite me’ let’s do so via #boycottMulan,” adding a gif of the animated dragon Mushu saying “Dishonor!”
“She is living in a country with freedom of speech, yet she supports communism and brutality of police..#BoycottMulan,” another person shared on Twitter.
However, some people are still hoping for the live-action remake, which is set to release in 2020.
“As her action goes against Disney’s mission to spread hope and positivity, I sincerely hope that Disney will reconsider the casting choice and give the world the Mulan we deserve. #BoycottMulan,” one person wrote.
Liu’s comments come in response to the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong that began two months ago in opposition to an extradition bill that would allow people to be transferred to mainland China for trial. Since then, the protests have swelled into broader calls for democracy and an investigation into police brutality.
