Disney’s Mulan Is Being Boycotted After Liu Yifei Shared Support for Hong Kong Police
Actor Liu Yifei, who will be portraying Mulan in Disney’s upcoming live-action adaptation of the 1998 classic Mulan, has come under fire after reportedly sharing her support of Hong Kong police with a post on popular Chinese social platform Weibo.
CNN reports that on Thursday, August 15, the Chinese American actor publicly professed her support for the Hong Kong police forces on Weibo to her over 65 million followers, writing, “I support the Hong Kong police. You can all attack me now. What a shame for Hong Kong.”
Following the post, people took to Twitter — which is blocked by the government in China — with the hashtag #BoycottMulan to show their discontent with the actor’s words. “Enjoying freedom and democracy in the U.S. while suppressing Hong Kong people who are fighting for freedom and democracy,” one person tweeted alongside a GIF of a disappointed Mushu from Disney’s original animated blockbuster.
“How tone deaf do you have to be to support police brutality when you just filmed a character who is supposed to stand against oppression in its raw form? Pound sand,” someone else wrote on the social network after seeing Liu’s message.
Some also pointed out the fact that Liu was weighing in on the situation from a privileged stance as an American citizen. “Real ironic for a naturalized American citizen to shit on people fighting for freedom and democracy,” a user wrote.
“#BoycottMulan because while these people in HK are fighting for their rights while being brutalized by their own police, Liu Yifei is sitting her happy ass down in the U.S. enjoying the rights those people don’t have while supporting the police brutality from afar,” another one added.
Hong Kong has seen growing political unrest since then-peaceful demonstrations, which first began in June against a proposal to allow extraditions to mainland China. The protests have since evolved into a fully fledged pro-democracy and anti-government movement — leading to various violent clashes between protesters and police.
Per CNN, Liu isn’t the only Chinese celebrity to wade into the protests in favor of the Chinese government — stars such as Jackie Chan, Tony Leung Ka-fai, and Daniel Chan have also done so while singer Denise Ho has, in turn, expressed her support for the protesters.
Teen Vogue has reached out to Walt Disney Studios for comment.
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