'Barbie' Backlash as Twitter Responds to Simu Liu Casting

Twitter has pushed back on the PR around the upcoming "Barbie" movie, with some users recalling allegations that "Shang Chi" star Simu Liu – who co-stars as one version of Barbie's boyfriend, Ken – once posted remarks comparing being gay with pedophilia.

Jezebel reported that while "some have celebrated Liu's inclusion in the movie as a triumph for Asian representation in the film, it's also been met with a fair amount of eye-rolls from others" due to the years-old post, as well as other problematic social media remarks.

"In 2015, when Liu was 26, the account that was credibly linked to him mentioned performing 'a significant amount of research' for a show in which he portrayed a pedophile," Jezebel recounted.

"His research, he wrote, made him 'much more sympathetic to anyone who is born with those urges,'" the article added. "The now-deleted post elaborated: 'From a biological standpoint, it's no different than being gay – a small mutation in the genome that defines our sexual preferences.'"

Jezebel also said that, according to Gizmodo, "the account linked to Liu made a series of 'casually sexist remarks about women being inferior athletes to men' and 'inelegantly expressed disdain for extremism in a way that carried Islamophobic overtones.'"

That same account "was an active participant in the r/AZNidentity subreddit, which, as Jezebel reported last year, is fairly notorious for its militant support for 'men's rights' and its aggressive attacks against Asian women in interracial relationships, or just Asian women perceived as disrespecting Asian men, in general," the article continued.

"All of this baggage, mind you, when Manny Jacinto or Steven Yeun or Harry Shum Jr. or Charles Melton or Daniel Dae Kim were literally right there!"

"After these screenshots emerged on social media, Liu took to Twitter in 2019 to call the platform a 'slanderous place,'" Evie recalled.

"It's important to note that Liu has not addressed these comments, nor has he confirmed that it was his account," Evie added.

Have a look at a sampling of Twitter's response to Liu's casting in the highly anticipated movie.

Others offered more general criticisms:

Watch the official trailer for "Barbie" below.