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Actor Simu Liu isn't happy about a controversial celebrity look-a-like camera comparison from NBA’s Celebrity All-Star game on Friday that some say perpetuated the problematic "all Asians look alike" stereotype.
"I had a great time but this wasn't cool," he tweeted of the incident Friday, sharing a post with a screenshot of the fan side-by-side with an image of himself on the jumbotron.
Many argued that the fan looked nothing like the 33-year-old Canadian star of Marvel's "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings."
Liu continued in the thread, clarifying that his problem was with the cameraman and not the NBA. "To be perfectly clear the entire org and ops team surrounding all-star have been nothing but absolutely stellar to myself and all my friends. this was just one person with a camera. and no disrespect to my man in the videotron either! he's gorgeous we just don't look alike."
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Actor Simu Liu speaks onstage at 2022 Los Angeles Comic Con at Los Angeles Convention Center on December 03, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino/WireImage)
Twitter was quick to react to the allegedly stereotypical comparison, however, blasting the comparison as racist.
"'Let’s pick random Asian dude' smdh," one user wrote.
"Another typical L for the Utah Jazz organization," producer and entrepreneur Dave Lu tweeted, adding in a separate post, "Or just another typical racist L for the state of Utah."
"Yeah, that’s f---ed up," actress Kim Horcher wrote in the thread, and actor Mark Ghanimé sounded off by writing, "That’s a hell no."
One user explained the controversy in his tweet, writing, "The issue here is that they have no similar characteristics other than being Asian. Usually when they do this bit, there’s SOMETHING to connect. Haircut, beard, build, something. This is literally just playing into the 'all Asians look alike' stereotype."
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Another chose to call out look-a-like comparisons as problematic in general, tweeting, "I always felt like the ‘look alike cams’ are always glorified bullying, Makes fun of weight, hairlines, race ect I will say at least this one is comparing the guy to an attractive celebrity.... but it's [sic] still doesn't sit right with me The bit was fun while it lasted, it's not funny anymore... find a new bit."
Some dismissed the outrage, however, criticizing Liu for being too "sensitive" or for choosing to turn a joke into a serious issue.
"yea there's not a whole lot of positives with this bit. it's either compare white people with white people or be racist lol," video games and pop culture enthusiast Andy Cortez wrote.
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SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 20: Simu Liu of Marvel Studios' 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' at the San Diego Comic-Con International 2019 Marvel Studios Panel in Hall H on July 20, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
"Are you really that sensitive or are you just joking? I've seen teams do this ‘celebrity look alike’ gag many times through League Pass jumbotron feeds. The fans they pick almost never look like the celebs yet this is the first time I've ever seen someone act butthurt about it," another user criticized.
A third wrote, "It's an effing joke."
Team Dwayne Wade, of which Liu was a member, beat out Team Ryan Smith on Friday with a narrow margin of 81-78.
Fox News Digital reached out to the NBA for comment and is awaiting a response.
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