Chloe Bennet changed her last name, Wang, because ‘Hollywood is racist’
We’ve never talked about this actress, Chloe Bennet, before now. She’s mostly worked in television, and her best known work is probably on Nashville and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. She’s very pretty and she’s 25 years old. She’s half-Chinese, on her father’s side, and her birth name was Chloe Wang. Chloe made a public comment this week thanking Ed Skrein for stepping aside from the Hellboy reboot when he realized the character he was supposed to play should have been cast with an actor of Asian descent. When someone on Chloe’s Instagram was like “if you’re so Asian, why did you change your name,” Chloe unloaded:
Don’t mess with Chloe Bennet! In a recent Instagram post, the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star applauded Ed Skrein for stepping down from playing Major Ben Daimio in the Hellboy reboot. In the original comic, the character is of Asian descent, which Skrein is not. But after a commenter asked the actress why she changed her last name from Wang to Bennet when she is Asian American, she did not hold back.
“Changing my last name doesn’t change the fact that my BLOOD is half Chinese, that I lived in China, speak Mandarin or that I was culturally raised both American and Chinese,” Bennet replied. “It means I had to pay my rent, and Hollywood is racist and wouldn’t cast me with a last name that made them uncomfortable. I’m doing everything I can, with the platform I have, to make sure no one has to change their name again, just so they can get work. So kindly love, f–k off.”
Bennet shared Skrein’s note in her Instagram post applauding the actor and wrote the following: “DAMN, that’s a man. Thank you @edskrein for standing up against Hollywood’s continuous insensitivity and flippant behavior towards the Asian American community. There is no way this decision came lightly on your part, so thank you for your bravery and genuinely impactful step forward. I hope this inspires other actors/film makers to do the same. Also, dayum cute af AND a pioneer for social injustice?! Fellas, take note. That’s how it’s done.”
[From E! News]
I absolutely agree with her and her decision to use an Anglo-sounding stage name. Would “Chloe Wang” be hired for the same roles, or even get the same auditions that “Chloe Bennet” gets? No. That’s the sad truth. Look no further than all of those stupid f–king jokes earlier this year about Mahershala Ali’s name, and that was during his successful Oscar campaign. White Hollywood just can’t handle it when people of color also have non-Anglo names. Ugh.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Source: Chloe Bennet changed her last name, Wang, because ‘Hollywood is racist’
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