Shang-Chi star Simu Liu called out for self-victimizing following Tarantino's Marvel comments

Actor Simu Liu is trending on Twitter, but for all the wrong reasons. The Kim's Convenience actor recently fired back at comments made by director Quintin Tarantino, earning the actor quite a lot of flak from social media users.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been around for more than a decade. The debate about Marvel being "real cinema" or not is reinvigorated yet again after Tarantino made some comments about MCU actors not being movie stars. This view of the MCU has been gaining fervor over the last few years.

Legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese also previously commented on Marvel films in an interview with Empire. Scorsese had said that Marvel movies "aren't real" cinema and went on to explain his stance in a New York Times op-ed.

After Tarantino's appearance on the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings actor Simu Liu fired back at his criticism. However, it appears that fans are much too displeased at his reaction. Here's the whole view of the situation.

Note: This article contains the opinions of the author.

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Why are fans calling out Simu Liu?

Director Quintin Tarantino (Image via Getty)

Quintin Tarantino recently appeared on the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast and laid out his views on Marvel films. He said that Marvel actors are not "stars," when the audience views the superheroes as stars of the films.

He argued that the actors gained fame from playing these characters, but that doesn't make them movie stars. The Pulp Fiction director said that the characters the actors played were the stars, and called Captain America and Thor the stars of the films. He stated that he wasn't the first person to say it as he believed it had been said "a zillion times," and noted:

"It's these franchise characters that become a star."

Simu Liu tweeted in reaction to Tarantino's take, while also addressing Scorsese's comments. He said that while he's awed by the filmmakers, he doesn't think that they get to have a say in the matter. Liu also expressed that if it were only up to either Scorsese or Tarantino, he wouldn't have been able to star in a big-budget film.

He stated further in another tweet that he's proud to work with a movie studio that encourages diversity while inspiring communities throughout the world. The controversial bit is that he called the Golden Age of cinema "white as h*ll".

Simu Liu's tweet defending the MCU (Image via Twitter)

Liu's tweets seem to have aroused the attention of many on social media who agreed with Tarantino. Some even stated that Shang-Chi made money because it was an MCU film, not because Simu Liu starred in it.

Another Twitter user stated that the film wasn't even advertised with Liu's name in Hong Kong as the main focus of the promotions was Tony Leung. The user noted that fans of the latter were hyped to watch the film.

Other fans pointed to the fact that Simu Liu is making this whole issue about himself. His statement about the Golden Age of Cinema being "white as h*ll" sadly didn't make sense to social media users either.

Many Twitter users noted that Martin Scorsese and Quintin Tarantino have done their fair share to popularize foreign cinema. Scorsese is the man behind the World Cinema Project, while Tarantino has actively influenced world cinema through his work.

Some also posted clips from Bong Joon-ho's Oscar acceptance speech, where he thanked both Tarantino and Scorsese for their massive influence and support in his creative endeavors. Scorsese also directed Kundun, which featured a fully Tibetan cast, but was scrapped by Disney after negative reactions from the Chinese government.

Filmmaker Martin Scorsese (Image via Getty)

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Final thoughts

Simu Liu is getting a lot of hate, and while some of it may be justified, it's still a very complicated situation. Martin Scorsese and Quintin Tarantino have led the world of cinema for many decades and have made several films where their focus was not white-centric at all, Django Unchained, Kill Bill by Tarantino and Silence, Kundun by Scorsese, to name a few.

While Simu Liu's statements are not inflammatory at all, his image as an actor with rather slim filmography and problematic statements gives social media users a lot of room to punch down. As is the case with social media, ad-libs and strawman arguments are the names of the game.

Sadly, Simu Liu's views on the situation are limited, which is why he's getting bad treatment. Perhaps the criticism from cinema auteurs is something that Marvel Studios can take into consideration for future projects, but for now, the situation appears to be bleak.