TGIF Feature: John Chu denies Brenda Song allegation that she wasn't Asian enough for 'Crazy Rich Asians'

ASAM NEWS

It was one quote in a long article about the career of Brenda Song, the woman dubbed the original Crazy Rich Asian for her role as London Tippin in the Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
In a profile in Teen Vogue, buried deep in the article, Song mentions her heart break when she said she couldn’t get an audition for the landmark film, Crazy Rich Asians.

“A lot of people don’t know this, but I never got to read for Crazy Rich Asians, ever,” she said to Teen Vogue. “Their reasoning behind that, what they said was that my image was basically not Asian enough, in not so many words. It broke my heart,” she says. “I said, ‘This character is in her late to mid-20s, an Asian American, and I can’t even audition for it? I’ve auditioned for Caucasian roles my entire career, but this specific role, you’re not going to let me do it? You’re going to fault me for having worked my whole life?’ I was like, ‘Where do I fit?’”

That quote was picked up by numerous publications including USA Today and Entertainment Weekly. Song’s disappointment had such an impact that director Jon Chu felt compelled to comment about it on social media.

Chuas said that’s not how it happened.



Chu followed up by explaining why Song didn’t get an audition. He said it wasn’t necessary because he’s already a fan and well aware of her work.

Song is half Thai and half Hmong. Her mom is Thai, but adopted into a Hmong family. So Song says she was raised primarily Hmong.

She told Teen Vogue she’s always been proud of where she came from even if her friends didn’t always understand. Song, to many Asian Americans, is remembered as the first Asian they ever saw on TV.

Currently, she’s part of an ensemble cast that includes Shay Mitchell and Kat Denning on Hulu’s Dollface.

TGIF Feature: Jeezy-Jeannie Mai-Brenda Song: Trying to straighten out a real mess

WARNING: Language in some tweets may be offensive to some.

Social media was all abuzz that the rumors of rapper Jeezy's and TV host Jeannie Mai;s relationship was something more than just being friends. Their Instagram confirmation then took a life of its own as fans debated the topics of "inter-racial dating" and the 'All-Asians-ook-alike."

Sucked into the storm of controversy was Brenda Song, actress and Disney alum.

First, let's set the stage:

FROM the HotNewsHipHop website:

It's 2019 guys... interracial relationships are a thing and there's literally nothing wrong with them so, can we all just stop talking shit on somebody who chooses to date outside of their race? For some reason, Jeezy is getting bashed online by some people who are unhappy with his choice in women. This week, he went Instagram official with his girlfriend Jeannie Mai, one of the hosts of The Real, and fans of the couple were seen all over the comments section posting heart emojis and congratulating the bunch on getting together. There were a few negative comments mixed in though and it was enough for Jeezy to earn the scorn of Twitter.

The veteran rapper Jeezy appears to be happy with his new girlfriend, who happens to be of Vietnamese and Chinese descent. Some of Jeezy's fans were unhappy that the rapper is shacking up with her, disrespectfully telling him to not date outside of his race. People are bringing up the hypocrisy in this situation though, noting that Cassie's relationship with Alex Fine, a white man, has been embraced but when Jeezy decides to date an Asian woman, all hell breaks loose. Something ain't right there.

Jeezy got some critical feedback from fans who expressed their disapproval of a black man dating outside of his race. But that critique got some fast responses. 

Then it got more interesting when critics fell for that old trope and began mistaking actress Brenda Song with Jeannie because, you know, Asians all look alike, right?

As the clip shows, Jeannie is no stranger to controversy when interracial dating is concerned. She was married to a white man for 10 years before her 2017 divorce.

But since Jeezy and Jeannie made their relationship Instagram official, a clip has resurfaced from a (2014) episode of “The Real,” in which Mai made a comment about dating Black men that made social media users uneasy. She said:

“I loved Black guys! I did, I did. But for me, dark meat on the side. White keeps me mean and lean, you know? That’s why I married white. That’s what I like.”

Later, a "clarification" only made things messier:

“What I’m saying is I really do think Black men are attractive!…when I think about men, I like dark men. I used to date Black men. I think they’re attractive. But when I decided to stick to – because it just kept me happiest – was my man Freddy, who just happens to be White.”

Meanwhile, Brenda Song's fans were coming to the defense of their idol. 

Are you still with us? Got that straight?

This whole kerfuffle -- Jeezy, Jeannie Mai, Brenda Song -- might seem frivolous but it is just the tip of the iceberg of topics that deserves some serious discussion, especially when one race starts dumping on another race. That interracial racism among blacks and Asians  rarely gets aired but it is something that needs to be addressed as we espouse solidarity with each other against real oppression.

The whole Jeezy-Jeannie Mai-Brenda Song thing, can get so confusing sometimes ... that's why we try to steer away from the  world of who's-dating-who. However, for us non-celebrities, we have to live with those issues in real-life ... and that can be equally confusing.

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Disney introduces TV's first Thai American lead character

Brenda Song and Matt Braly at Disney's Fan Fest last April.

ASAM NEWS

Animated series Amphibia premiered this week on Disney Channel and features Brenda Song voicing Anne Boonchuy, a Thai American teenager who gets transported to a mystical land of anthropomorphic amphibians.
“She has leaves in her hair. She’s missing a shoe. She’s blasé about everything,” Song said of the character Anne. “I was like, ‘Oh, my god, I kind of love her.'”

Song, who is Thai and Hmong, saw Anne as a chance to showcase her heritage through a role. Song is known for playing London Tipton in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody on Disney Channel.

“I remember [Song] during her audition, and she’s killing it,” said executive producer Matt Braly, who is half Thai. “One of the executives said to me, ‘You know, she’s also Thai.’ I remember being like, ‘I’m trying to evaluate the performance and that is just going to extremely bias me.’

“It’s always been a huge goal of mine to create a Thai character. From the very inception of Amphibia, I knew that Anne had to be Thai.”

The titular world of Amphibia is inspired by Braly’s own childhood summers in Bangkok. Anne’s messy appearance, with hair full of twigs and leaves, is based on a picture of Braly’s grandmother as a child.

“This amazing thing would happen every summer where, by the end of the trip, I wouldn’t want to leave,” said Braly. “This sensation of getting to a new place, getting very uncomfortable and slowly but surely adjusting was a sensation I wanted to bottle up for my own show.”

Song and Braly even called Braly’s mother for help to make sure Song pronounced Thai words in the script accurately.

“Something I really love about what we’re doing with the show is that we’re introducing our audience to a very specific culture, but she’s not defined by it,” said Song. “It’s just who she is.”

“These characters have different cultural backgrounds,” Braly added. “But it really is about this great universal story that anyone can hop in and enjoy.”

You can watch the full first episode here.

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