Simu Liu is no stranger to criticisms– even dishing out some hot ones himself. The Hollywood star has rapidly gained widespread fame and following over his portrayal of the MCU’s Shang-Chi and as one of the Kens from the Barbie Movie. Now, he recently made waves once more over boba tea after getting into a brief but tense exchange with some business owners in the Canadian reality show, Dragon’s Den.
For those who are out of the loop, Dragon’s Den is a show where budding business owners pitch their ideas to several wealthy investors in an attempt to get more funding for their product or service. Simu Liu was among the investors or “Dragons” of the show in its recent episode. Meanwhile, the company in question is Bobba, run by Western business owners.
In the show, they pitched several products such as the Popping Boba Tea and even an Alcoholic Boba Tea. They also claimed that the boba tea they make is “no longer ethnic” and thus won’t intimidate the rest of the world anymore because they made it in their own interpretation. It’s worth noting that boba tea came from Taiwan.
That Didn’t Sit Well with Simu Liu
That’s why Simu Liu heavily criticized Bobba’s intent and pitch with boba tea. “I’m concerned about this idea of ‘disrupting’ or ‘disturbing’ boba tea… Then there’s also the issue of cultural appropriation. There’s an issue of taking something that’s very distinctly Asian in its identity and quote-unquote ‘making it better,’ which I have an issue with,” claimed Simu Liue.
“I started this venture company [Markham Valley Ventures] for a lot of reasons, but really primarily to uplift minority entrepreneurs. And not only do I feel like this is not happening here, but that I would be uplifting a business that is profiting off of something that feels so dear to my cultural heritage. I want to be a part of bringing boba to the masses, but not like this,” Simu also added.
While Simu Liu rejected Bobba’s boba idea, Manjit Minhas, one of the Dragons, initially approved and gave the $1 million. But following the viral and continued backlash, Minhas apparently retracted the investment from Bobba.
