“Crazy Rich Asians” director Jon M. Chu denied he ever said actress Brenda Song “wasn’t asian enough” to star in the movie.
Song, 31, revealed she asked her management team to score her an audition for the all-asian film, but was reportedly told it wasn’t the right fit in an interview published Wednesday by 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,” Song said in the interview. “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?'”
After the interview was published, Chu took to Twitter to deny the former Disney Channel star’s claim.
????????♂️would these words ever come out of my mouth? Nope. makes no sense. I feel horrible she thinks this is the reason. The fact is I love Brenda Song and am a fan. I didn’t need her to audition because I already knew who she was!
— Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu) November 20, 2019
“…would these words ever come out of my mouth? Nope makes no sense. I feel horrible she thinks this is the reason,” Chu wrote in response Wednesday. “The fact is I love Brenda Song and am a fan. I didn’t need her to audition because I already knew who she was!” (RELATED: Awkwafina Takes Shot Out Of Tequila-Filled Purse Flask During 2019 Oscars)
He also tweeted an article about the open casting call they held for “Crazy Rich Asians.”
One of my favorite memories of making #CrazyRichAsians was when we opened the auditions to anyone in the world with our open call. We watched hundreds &hundreds of videos from very talented people from all around the world. Made us tear up many times. https://t.co/G5e64q0zmf
— Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu) November 21, 2019
“One of my favorite memories of making #CrazyRichAsians was when we opened the auditions to anyone in the world with our open call,” he tweeted. “We watched hundreds &hundreds of videos from very talented people from all around the world. Made us tear up many times.”
Song has not yet responded to Chu’s denial. Actors Constance Wu, Henry Golding and Awkwafina ended up starring in the film.
